How weak is youth employment in South Korea in the latest data?

Youth employment, defined as people aged 15-29, fell for the 45th consecutive month to 191,000 in July. The employment rate for that group also dropped for the 27th straight month to 44.2 percent.

How did income change for households headed by younger Koreans?

Nominal earned income for households headed by people aged 39 or younger fell 0.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier. By contrast, earned income rose 0.7 percent for all households and increased for households headed by people in their 40s, 50s and 60s.

New jobs held by people in 20s, 30s decrease to record low in Q1

Q: Why did new jobs held by people in their 20s and 30s fall to a record low in South Korea?

Industry insiders said the decline was tied to a shrinking population in that age group, weaker hiring demand in manufacturing, and companies' preference for experienced workers. Manufacturing accounted for most of the drop in new jobs.

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Summary

The number of new jobs held by people in their 20s and 30s fell to a record low in the first quarter. A combined 2.36 million new jobs were held by those age groups in January-March, down 23,000 from a year earlier. New jobs held by people in their 20s dropped to 1.34 million, while manufacturing accounted for most of the overall decline. Youth employment also continued to weaken in July, with the rate for people aged 15-29 falling for the 45th straight month to 44.2 percent.

Key Facts

The total number of new jobs held by people in their 20s and 30s in the first quarter was 2.36 million, the lowest level since the government began compiling the data in 2018.
New jobs held by people in their 20s fell by 26,000 from a year earlier to 1.34 million in the first quarter.
New jobs in manufacturing fell by 24,000 and accounted for most of the overall decline.
Separate government data showed nominal earned income of households headed by people aged 39 or younger fell 0.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.
Youth employment, referring to people aged 15-29, fell for the 45th consecutive month to 191,000 in July, and the employment rate dropped to 44.2 percent.

By Yonhap

Published Aug 30, 2026 11:53 am KST

Graduates throw their caps in the air during Sogang University’s commencement ceremony in Seoul, Aug. 18. Yonhap

The number of new jobs held by people in their 20s and 30s fell to a record low in the first quarter, government data showed Sunday.

A combined 2.36 million new jobs were held by people in their 20s and 30s in the January-March period, down 23,000 from a year earlier, according to data from the Korean Statistical Information Service, an online portal operated by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The figure marked the lowest since the government began to compile such data in 2018.

The number of new jobs held by people in their 20s fell by 26,000 to 1.34 million in the first quarter, also marking a record low.

New jobs in manufacturing contracted by 24,000, accounting for the majority of the overall decline.

For people in their 30s, the number of new jobs stood at 1.02 million, up 3,000 from a year earlier.

Industry insiders attributed the decline in new jobs for younger people to the shrinking population of this age group, weaker hiring demand in manufacturing and companies' preference for experienced workers.

Meanwhile, separate government data showed that nominal earned income of households headed by people aged 39 or younger fell 0.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.

Earned income for all households rose 0.7 percent on-year, while that of households headed by people in their 40s, 50s and 60s increased 1.6 percent, 2.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The latest separate employment data also showed that youth employment, referring to people aged 15-29, fell for the 45th consecutive month to 191,000 in July, while the employment rate dropped for 27 straight months to 44.2 percent.

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