Young workers at SMEs to get subsidies

The government will provide subsidies to young people who get employed at small firms as part of programs to lower the young jobless rate.

It is aimed at encouraging young jobseekers to land jobs at small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday.

Small firms have difficulty recruiting new employees due to less competitive wage and welfare benefits.

The said that if new employees at small companies who are promoted from internships deposit 3 million won ($2,600) into bank accounts within a two-year period, their employers and the government will additionally pay them 3 million won and 6 million won, respectively, after two years of work, resulting in a lump-sum savings of 12 million won.

From July, the government will pick some 10,000 people for the program.

The move is to boost employment of young people and women, vowing to help about 40,000 jobseekers land jobs by matching them up with employers and doling out direct payments in exchange for new hirings.

The unemployment rate for people under 30 reached an all-time high of 9.2 percent last year.