No. of economically inactive people rises in 2025: data
This file photo shows a job fair held in the southeastern city of Daegu, Sept. 23. Yonhap
The number of South Koreans that remain economically inactive rose from a year earlier in 2025, amid a steady increase in the number of people who say they have no particular reason for not working, government data showed Wednesday.
A total of 16.22 million individuals had remained economically inactive as of end-August, up 9,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The economically inactive population refers to people who are neither employed nor actively seeking work.
Among them, 2.64 million people said they were "resting," meaning they were not seeking employment for no specific reason, up 73,000 from a year earlier.
The number of people in the category has continued to climb in recent years, rising from 2.24 million in 2022 to 2.32 million in 2023 and 2.57 million in 2024.
Among people aged 15 to 29, 34.1 percent said they were not working because they "could not find the job they wanted," up 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Another 9.9 percent said they were not working because "no jobs were available."
The ministry said the data reflects a growing discord between the types of jobs available and the employment opportunities young people seek.