Number of Jobless Female Grads Hits Record High

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

The number of unemployed female university graduates has increased to an all-time high in line with the dire employment conditions plaguing 20-somethings.

Companies remain reluctant to hire new workers amid the continued uncertain economic outlook, analysts here say.

They also say that more young Korean women are delaying marriage and instead are looking for a job in order to survive the economic hardship, which has pushed the female jobless rate up.

Those who do not intend to work are tallied as economically inactive, having no effect on the nation's jobless rate.

But when they do seek work, they are counted as unemployed because they become part of the economically active population along with the employed, raising the number of jobless.

Statistics Korea said Friday that the number of jobless young women with university degrees totaled 196,000 in February, up sharply from 152,000 the previous month. The figure was the largest since the statistical office began compiling data in 1999.

The unemployment rate among women with university degrees or higher stood at 5.6 percent last month, the highest since April 2004 when the rate was 5.7 percent. It indicates employment conditions for highly-educated Korean women have deteriorated in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.

The jobless rate among women with two-year college degrees rose to 6.6 percent from 5.7 percent in January, while about 5 percent of economically active females with university degrees were unemployed, up sharply from 2.7 percent.

``Many university graduates start looking for jobs in February when schools hold a graduation ceremony. This is why there are usually more unemployed people in the month of February than other months. As more women enter universities, there are more female graduates. This has resulted in a larger number of jobless female university graduates,'' a Statistics Korea official said.

The official also said the current economic conditions are not favorable for women as businesses become pickier about who they hire at the time of economic uncertainty.

More women had been passing the nation's bar exam and state-run tests designed to employ high-ranking public servants over the years, reflecting growing education achievement among females. But in 2009, fewer women passed such exams.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 356 females passed last year's bar exam, accounting for 35.3 percent of the total, down from 44.3 percent in 2008.

Out of 244 who passed a civil servant recruitment exam last year, 114 were female, accounting for 51.2 percent of the total, down from 55.7 percent a year earlier.

Against the worsening employment conditions for women, the government plans to provide a wide range of vocational training programs and consulting services to female university graduates.

``Female university graduates' tendency to look for only 'decent' jobs at large companies and public organizations has made unemployment among them worse than it should be,'' an official at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.

He said the ministry will set up an employment database and provide tailored job training programs to help young women find jobs at mostly small- and medium-sized enterprises.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr

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