Young people expect AI to replace desired jobs within 5 years amid hiring slump

A job seeker reads an information leaflet at a job fair in Seocho District, Seoul, April 28. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-bin

More than half of young job seekers and workers say artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to replace or reduce the need for workers in their desired occupations within five years, reflecting deepening anxiety about their place in an AI-driven labor market.

The Federation of Korean Industries released the results of a survey Tuesday on job perceptions among young people as AI use grows, polling 1,000 people aged 19 to 34 who are either employed or looking for work.

Among respondents, 53.9 percent said AI would likely replace or scale back their current or desired jobs within five years. That perception was more prevalent among job seekers at 63.8 percent than employed respondents at 49.4 percent.

Job replacement concerns were greater among those in sectors with high exposure to AI. Office workers, managers and professionals were more likely to say their jobs faced a high chance of replacement at 58.4 percent, which was 12.6 percentage points higher than manual laborers and skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery workers.

By industry, 54.5 percent of respondents in sectors with high AI exposure, such as finance, insurance and information technology, showed job replacement concerns, which was 11 percentage points higher than those in transportation, warehousing and construction.

Attitudes toward AI reflected a mix of optimism and unease, with 64.7 percent saying AI helps improve job expertise and career competitiveness, while 53.6 percent said gaps in AI proficiency could leave them falling behind the competition.

Many also worried that AI replacing entry-level tasks could limit career advancement opportunities, a concern shared by 65.6 percent, while 67.7 percent said differences in AI proficiency would widen income and career gaps among young people.

Asked which policy would best stabilize youth employment amid the rise of AI, 23.8 percent of respondents pointed to stronger support for companies hiring young workers, followed by expanded entry-level job experience opportunities at 23.7 percent, AI skills training for young people at 19.8 percent and improved working conditions in labor-short fields at 15.9 percent.

The findings come as hiring at major Korean conglomerates is on the decline, with a growing generational imbalance in the workforce.

Among 113 of the 500 major companies that disclosed new hiring figures, the number of new hires fell by 15.3 percent to 92,680 last year from 109,456 in 2023, according to corporate data tracker Leaders Index on Tuesday.

The shift by age group was pronounced. Employment of workers aged 30 or under fell 13.8 percent to 230,434 last year, with their share of total employment down 2.9 percentage points to 18.3 percent.

Meanwhile, employment of workers aged 50 or older rose 4.8 percent to 231,848, with their share of total employment up 0.9 percentage points to 18.4 percent.

Among new hires, the share of workers 30 or under fell 5.3 percentage points to 51.1 percent last year, while the share of workers 50 or older rose 2.9 percentage points to 11.2 percent.

The generational gap was most pronounced in sectors driven by domestic demand such as retail, food and beverage, construction, telecommunications and insurance.

Retail had the highest share of workers aged 50 or older last year at 31.8 percent, followed by food and beverage at 30.6 percent, then construction and building materials at 29.7 percent. In telecommunications, workers 50 or older made up 25.6 percent of the workforce, about four times the share of those 30 or under.