[News Terms] 'Neetjok'... No Job Hunting or Anything

"I don't want to get hurt or disappointed, so I don't expect or challenge myself."

This is a comment posted online under an article titled "The largest number of young people just taking a break." According to the Statistics Korea's Economically Active Population Survey, among 8.15 million young people aged 15 to 29 in July, 443,000 responded that they were "taking a break." While the youth population is decreasing, the proportion of "resting youth" has increased, reaching an all-time high of 5.4%. This proportion rose from 4.1% in 2019 to 5.0% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then decreased to 4.2% in 2022. It started increasing again from last year (4.8%) and entered the 5% range this year.

The issue of youth NEETs is serious. "NEET" stands for "Not in Education, Employment or Training." It refers to individuals or groups who are neither students nor employed, and who are not receiving vocational training for job seeking. These individuals lack the will to work altogether. They differ from "Freeters," who live by freely working part-time jobs without a fixed workplace.

The term "NEET" originated from the 1999 report titled "BRIDGING THE GAP: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR 16?18 YEAR OLDS NOT IN EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT OR TRAINING," prepared by the Social Exclusion Unit directly under then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In the preface of this report, Prime Minister Blair stated, "Our goal is to end the situation where thousands of young people are not given opportunities for a better life and to contribute more to society."

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, UK Social Exclusion Unit report [Photo by Reuters, Social Exclusion Unit]

The term "NEET" quickly spread not only in the UK but also to other countries. However, each country defines it slightly differently. In Korea, the focus is generally on young people aged 15 to 34. The UK and New Zealand mainly focus on teenagers. Japan defines NEETs as unmarried individuals aged 15 to 34, while the European Union (EU) Commission refers to young people aged 15 to 24 as NEETs. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines NEETs as young people aged 15 to 29 who are not participating in formal education and are not working.

Countries are putting effort into solving the NEET issue because it is linked to various economic and social problems. NEETs do not earn money, resulting in insufficient consumption capacity, and their unemployment increases the overall unemployment rate. A decrease in the economically active population can lead to a decline in a country's potential growth rate and gross domestic product (GDP).

[Photo by Pixabay]

Research has also shown that the longer one remains in a NEET state, the greater the risk of developing an extreme perception of life. In October last year, the Korea Labor Institute published a paper titled "A Comparative Study on Life Satisfaction of Long-term Youth NEET (NEET) Experience." Analyzing five years of Korean Labor Panel data from 2018 to 2022, the study found that those who experienced non-job-seeking NEET status for five consecutive years began to develop and increasingly hold extremely negative perceptions of their lives. The paper defines non-job-seeking NEETs as unmarried NEET youth aged 15 to 34 who do not even engage in job-seeking activities.

Nam Jaeryang, a senior researcher at the Korea Labor Institute, suggested, "It is important to identify long-term NEET experiencers and take appropriate measures. However, it would be more fundamental and effective to correct policies that may cause prolonged NEET experiences, such as those causing mismatches in youth labor supply and demand by education level."