Young People in South Korea Prefer to be Unemployed Rather than Work

Seoul – A new phenomenon has recent emerged in South Korea that young people now prefer to be unemployed rather than work.

According to South Korean statistics, the number of people working in their 20s decreased by 63 thousand per year, as quoted from The Herald Korea.

In May, there were only 3.83 million people working. This marks the seventh consecutive month of decline since November last year.

The number of unemployed also fell by 67,000 people compared to the previous year's 241,000.

About 357,000 unemployed 20-somethings reported that they wanted to rest rather than look for a job or prepare for work. This represents an increase of 36,000 compared to the previous year.

The most common reason for this group is the unavailability of jobs that offer desirable wages and working conditions.

As information, the 20s age group was the only age group to see a significant increase in individuals reporting that they were unemployed and not looking for work.

Of those in their 20s who were not working, 997,000 people said that they were accepted into a formal educational institution, followed by 357,000 people who were simply taking a break.

About 331,000 young people said they were looking for a job, and 113,000 of them enrolled in courses at private institutions to get a job. This comes as Korea is struggling with a shrinking population.

An analysis by the Korean Statistical Information Service showed the number of people in their 20s reached 6.155 million last month, down 196,000 from 6.351 million in the same month last year.

The population of people in their 20s in the ginseng country has declined every month since July 2021.