University students studying in a campus library (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s long-term unemployment has climbed to its highest level in four years, driven largely by a surge in jobless young adults with university degrees, according to new government data released Sunday.
The number of people who searched for work for more than six months but failed to secure a job reached 119,000 in October, the highest since October 2021, data from the Korea Data Agency’s national statistics portal showed.
Long-term job seekers now account for 18.1 percent of all unemployed people — the highest share for any October since records began in 1999, surpassing even the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.
After remaining below 100,000 for most of the past two years, long-term unemployment jumped sharply beginning in May and has doubled in just six months.
A major driver of the spike is a growing pool of highly educated young job seekers unable to find work despite holding bachelor’s degrees or higher. An analysis of the labor force survey’s microdata shows 35,000 long-term unemployed young adults in their 20s and 30s with at least a four-year college degree — the largest figure in 13 months.
Young Graduates Face Toughest Market in Years as Long-Term Joblessness Rises (Yonhap)
The problem is particularly acute among those aged 25 to 29, with 19,000 holding university or graduate degrees but unable to secure jobs, near the highest levels seen since the spring.
The rise comes even as the number of young people who have given up job searching — the so-called “resting” category — has declined for six consecutive months. Experts warn that long-term unemployed youth could soon shift into this group, signaling deeper labor-market distress.
The trend is especially troubling given South Korea’s rapidly shrinking youth population. The number of people aged 15 to 29 fell below 8 million in April for the first time and continues to drop by around 200,000 annually.
Economists point to a widening mismatch between young job seekers and employers. Many highly educated youths target large corporations, but major firms increasingly prefer experienced hires.
At the same time, the cooling job market following Korean companies’ large-scale investments in the United States — and the rapid spread of artificial intelligence technologies — is narrowing opportunities for new graduates.
“This is a structural mismatch,” said Kim Kwang-seok, an economist at the Korea Economic and Industrial Research Institute. “Big companies want experienced workers, while highly educated young people seek those very positions. Combined with AI-driven disruption, the mismatch will only deepen.”
The findings underscore a growing policy challenge for a government already grappling with a stagnant job market, demographic decline and persistent youth underemployment.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
