"I Can't Even Go Home for the Holidays"...Young People on Thin Ice as Even the 'Stepping Stones' Disappear

Regular Jobs for People in Their 20s Hit 12-Year Low...Third Straight Year of Decline
When Population Fell 3.5%, Regular Employment Plunged 7.9%

The employment slump for young people in their 20s, who should be taking their first steps into the job market, has worsened significantly. Regular jobs, which are considered quality employment, have shrunk to their lowest level in 12 years, and even temporary and daily jobs such as part-time work, which serve as a "stepping stone" before securing a stable position, have decreased.

According to microdata from the Economically Active Population Survey by the National Data Office as of January this year, the number of wage workers in their 20s stood at 3,085,000. This is a decrease of 179,000 from the same month a year earlier.

Among them, the number of regular employees was tallied at 2,042,000, down 175,000 from a year earlier. This is the lowest figure since 2014, when microdata analysis became possible, and marks a decline for the third consecutive year after peaking at 2,444,000 in January 2023. Regular employees are wage workers whose employment contracts are for at least one year or have no fixed term.

The employment slump for young people in their 20s, who are about to take their first steps into the job market, has worsened significantly. Getty Images

The number of temporary and daily workers also declined. Last month, the number of temporary and daily workers in their 20s was 1,043,000, down 4,000 from a year earlier. This is the lowest level since 2021 (997,000), when the labor market was hit hard by COVID-19. Although the scale of the decline was smaller than in the same month last year (32,000), it still marked a decrease for the second consecutive year.

People in their 20s were the only age group in which both regular and temporary/daily employment decreased at the same time. During the same period, employment increased for those in their 30s and 50s, while people in their 40s and 60s saw an increase in regular jobs and a decrease in temporary and daily jobs.

There was also a difference between the early and late 20s. Among those in their early 20s (ages 20 to 24), the number of temporary and daily workers was 541,000, down 51,000 in one year, and the number of regular workers (359,000) also fell by 50,000. In contrast, among those in their late 20s (ages 25 to 29), the number of regular workers decreased by 125,000, but the number of temporary and daily workers increased by 47,000. This has been interpreted as a result of job seekers in their late 20s, facing a narrowing path to regular employment, being pushed into short-term jobs.

The only age group in which both permanent employment and temporary/daily employment declined was people in their 20s. Over the same period, employment among people in their 30s and 50s increased, while for those in their 40s and 60s permanent employment rose and temporary/daily employment declined. Getty Images

Temporary workers are those whose contract period is at least one month but less than one year, while daily workers are those who are hired under employment contracts of less than one month or on a day-to-day basis.

The pace of job losses among people in their 20s is faster than the rate of population decline.

Last month, the population in their 20s was 5,619,000, down 3.5% from the same month last year. Over the same period, the decline rates for wage workers (5.5%) and regular workers (7.9%) far exceeded this. This suggests that, in addition to population decline, worsening labor-market conditions may have had a combined effect.

Among people in their 20s, the prolonged employment freeze is also increasing the number of those who neither look for work nor are employed. Last month, the number of people in their 20s classified as "taking a break" was 442,000, the highest since 2021 (460,000). The size of the increase (46,000) was also the largest since 2021. Being "taking a break" refers to a state in which a person has no intention of working and no plans to seek a job.