A jobseeker looking over wanted notices employment fair in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Close to 20 percent of young South Koreans are among the so-called NEETs, a group of people not engaged in education, employment, or training.
The National Youth Policy Institute reported that 16.6 percent of young South Koreans between 15 and 29 years of age were unemployed, and not in school or vocational training.
From an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard, which also includes those receiving private education or vocational training in the same NEET group, the proportion rose up to 19.2 percent.
Among young NEETs, 16.4 percent were male, while 16.9 percent were female.
Roughly two thirds of the NEET population were searching for a job, followed by those engaged in housework and childcare (12.9 percent), culture and art activities (8.6 percent), and those who gave up on job seeking (8.1 percent).
Another 34.8 percent of the NEET population said they hadn’t engaged in education, employment, or training for more than one year, while 7.3 percent said less than one month, and 57.9 percent said between one and 12 months.
Asked about the reason why they remained unemployed, 41.3 percent said they lack necessary skills or certifications. Roughly 40 percent said they had to raise children, while 37.6 percent said they lack confidence.
Close to half of all NEETs were concerned about employment (44.5 percent). Data showed that 36.6 percent wanted to get a stable job, rather than a job with a high monthly wage (17.6 percent).
The survey also revealed that 20.9 percent of young NEETs had debt, 68.7 percent of which consisted of student loans.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
