Korea Employers Federation's 'Youth Employment Market' Report
Voluntary Choice of Short-Term Work
Recent analysis indicates that the number of young people who have taken a break without any particular reason in the labor market has exceeded 500,000, intensifying the phenomenon of labor force idleness. While long-term unemployment among the youth is increasing, the number of young people voluntarily choosing part-time work is also rising. There are calls to expand support to enhance employment opportunities for the youth.
The Korea Employers Federation's report titled 'Three Recent Characteristics and Implications of the Youth Employment Market,' released on the 8th, analyzed the main features of the recent youth employment market as 'taking a break,' 'increase in part-time workers,' and 'increase in long-term unemployed.'
Job seekers participating in the '2025 Korea Job Fair' held at aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 19th are looking at the recruitment bulletin board. 2025.3.19. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong
Last year, the number of young people categorized as 'taking a break' (non-economic activity status without any particular activity such as childcare, housework, commuting, or job preparation during the past week) was 421,000, increasing for two consecutive years, and exceeded 500,000 in February this year.
The report explained that the main reason for 'taking a break' was labor market mismatch, such as difficulty finding desired jobs. It particularly analyzed that cases of those who, after experiencing employment, no longer engage in job-seeking activities and shifted to 'taking a break' have increased.
Furthermore, over the past three years, the number of wage workers among the youth has decreased, but part-time workers working less than 36 hours per week have shown an increasing trend. The proportion of those voluntarily choosing part-time work is rising. The number of wage workers among the youth decreased by 5.6%, from 3,741,000 in 2022 to 3,530,000 in 2024. During the same period, part-time workers increased by 4.9%, from 1,225,000 to 1,285,000.
Among last year's youth wage workers, 669,000 voluntarily chose part-time work, accounting for 70.9% of all part-time workers in the youth group. This is about 10 percentage points higher than the 61.1% voluntary part-time work selection rate across all age groups.
The report also expressed concern that the number of long-term unemployed youth (job-seeking period of four months or more), which had been decreasing for four consecutive years, increased by 2,000 last year, potentially acting as an obstacle to employment recovery. Among the total 227,000 long-term unemployed last year, 69,000 (30.2%) were youth, the highest proportion, followed by those in their 30s (ages 30-39) with 51,000 (22.3%). Fifty-two point five percent of long-term unemployed were aged 30 or younger.
Choi Moon-seok, head of the Youth ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) team at the Korea Employers Federation, stated, "Idle young people, including those 'taking a break,' need to explore their career paths independently and re-enter the labor market. Employment support services such as industry-tailored vocational training should be strengthened." He pointed out, "Private-led youth employment support programs like Samsung Electronics' SSAFY and LG AI Research Institute's LG Aimers should be significantly expanded to enhance job skills and provide work experience opportunities, thereby improving employability."
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