Job-seekers owe 14 million won on average

By Kang Seung-woo

About 60 percent of those employed are in debt and the portion for job-seekers is about 50 percent, a recent survey shows.

In a survey of 589 people — 210 job-seekers and 371 in employment, conducted by online recruitment portal Job Korea, 49.5 percent of those who are looking for jobs are in debt, while 60.4 percent of the employed owe money.

The debt of those who are seeking employment averaged 14.44 million won ($12,851), while those employed owed an average 27.59 million won.

Among those indebted job-seekers, 54 percent borrowed for tuition, while 46 percent said it was for living expenses.

In addition, 24 percent borrowed for pocket money, followed by language courses and shopping, private education, marriage and buying a home.

College tuition has been one of the biggest concerns for households, as it has continuously shown an upward trend, with the average yearly fees for private universities in 2010 standing at 7.53 million won.

As a result, the government has recently asked universities to freeze their tuition as part of an anti-inflation measure.

In contrast, the top two reasons for debt among employees were buying homes and the cost of living, followed by tuition, marriage, pocket money, shopping, language courses and private education.

Despite having less debt, job-seekers feel more stress than employed people in repaying debt, according to the inquiry.

The proportion of those who feel more than an average level of stress stood at 65.7 percent, 6.4 percentage points more than those in employment

Meanwhile, people in debt who have a job said that they spend 30.3 percent of their monthly salary to pay off what they owe.

구직자 빛, 평균 1400만원

구직자와 직장인들은 절반 이상이 빚을 지고 있는 것으로 조사됐다.

12일 취업포털 잡코리아가 구직자 218명과 직장인 371명을 대상으로 조사한 결과에 따르면 부채가 있다고 답한 응답자는 전체의 56.4%에 달했다.

구직자는 49.5%가, 직장인은 60.4%가 빚이 있다고 응답했다.

구직자의 1인당 평균 부채 규모는 1천444만원, 직장인의 경우 2천759만원으로 집계됐다.

구직자들은 빚을 진 이유(복수응답) 학교 등록금(50.0%)을 가장 많이 꼽았고 가정 생활비(42.6%), 개인용돈(22.2%), 해외 어학연수비 마련(14.8%) 등을 고른 응답자도 있었다.