Global Courant
SEOUL – The number of young people taking time off without looking for a job or studying is on the rise, official statistics showed on Sunday, as South Korea struggles to deal with the world’s lowest birth rate and a rapidly aging society.
The number of people in work in their 20s fell by 63,000 year-on-year in May to 3.83 million, a seven-month consecutive decline since November last year, according to Statistics Korea.
The number of unemployed also fell by 67,000 compared to the previous year to 241,000.
When asked about their participation in economic activity last month, 357,000 unemployed youth in their 20s reported taking a break without actively looking for a job or preparing for work, up from 36,000 in compared to the previous year.
The most commonly cited reason for their job search interruption was “the unavailability of jobs with desirable wages and benefits”.
The age group of 20 years was the only age group where a significant increase was observed in those who reported being unemployed and not looking for work.
Of those in their 20s who did not engage in economic activities, 997,000 said they had been admitted to formal educational institutions, followed by 357,000 who simply rested.
About 331,000 young people said they were looking for a job, and 113,000 took classes at private institutions for work.
This is because South Korea was struggling with a shrinking population.
An analysis by the Korean Statistical Information Service found that the number of people in their 20s was 6.155 million last month, down 196,000 from 6.351 million in the same month last year.
The population in their 20s has been declining every month year over year since July 2021. THE KOREAN HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
