Foreign graduate employment tops 30% for first time

A job seeker looks through an information brochure at a job fair for foreign workers in Gangnam District, Seoul, Nov. 20. Yonhap

The employment rate of foreign graduates in Korea topped 30 percent for the first time, according to the Ministry of Education Tuesday, in contrast to a decline in Korean graduate employment statistics.

An analysis released by the ministry and the Korean Educational Development Institute showed that 36,271 international students completed undergraduate and graduate programs in Korea between August 2023 and February 2024. Of those, 42.9 percent, or 15,576 individuals, ended their stay in Korea.

Of those who remained, 4,993 of the 14,966 international graduates eligible for employment, or 33.4 percent, landed jobs locally as of Dec. 31 last year. This represents an increase of 11.7 percentage points from the previous year, when 3,607 foreign graduates secured jobs.

The figures are the first accurate statistics of foreign graduate employment based on cross-ministry data sharing introduced last year, the ministry said.

Until 2022, such data was compiled solely through the Basic Higher Education Statistics, relying on email and phone surveys to determine employment status. However, authorities can now verify employment outcomes by tracking health insurance records and visa information, significantly improving the reliability of the data.

The change was made possible by linking higher education statistics with the databases of other agencies, including the Ministry of Justice and the National Health Insurance Service, reflecting growing calls to strengthen the objectivity of employment statistics for foreign graduates, as the number of international students continues to rise.

“Statistics released on the basis of accurate data are expected to serve as a valuable foundation for improving career guidance for international students, as well as policies related to their employment, further study and long-term settlement in Korea,” said Song Geun-hyun, director general of the education ministry’s Human Capital Policy Planning Bureau.

Starting this year, the ministry plans to release employment statistics for international students on an annual basis.

Meanwhile, 377,120 Korean graduates found jobs during the same period, representing an employment rate of 69.5 percent among 542,988 job seekers. The figure fell by 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Graduate schools recorded the highest employment rate at 82.1 percent, followed by junior colleges at 72.1 percent, four-year universities at 62.8 percent and colleges of education at 60.5 percent. Employment rates declined across all institution types from a year earlier, except at education colleges, which recorded an increase of 1 percentage point.

The education ministry attributed the overall decline to a broader economic slowdown.