Jobseekers look at employment information at a job fair held at aT Center in southern Seoul, in the Nov. 16, 2021, file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The employment rate of university graduates in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, slipped to the lowest level in 10 years, a South Korean business lobby said Tuesday.
According to a report published by the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) based on the Statistics Korea’s economic activity population survey, the employment rate of young people who graduated from college stood at 37.1 percent in 2020, the lowest in 10 years (2013-2022).
The non-economic activity rate of new university graduates stood at 41.4 percent in 2020, the highest in 10 years, raising concerns about an idle labor force.
The number of new graduates stood at 243,000 in 2020 and 241,000 in 2021, a level equivalent to about 80 percent of the 10-year average of 298,000.
The KEF analyzed that such figures reflect the increase in the number of university students who delay graduation due to the worsening economic situation.
Among employed graduates who graduated from universities in and after 2020, the share of regular jobs declined, while that of temporary jobs increased, indicating worsening job prospects.
“The 2020 university graduates faced a bigger employment shock than the graduates of other years and chances are high that they would experience a scarring effect for so long from the aftermath of the shock.” said Lim Young-tae, head of employment policy team at the KEF.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
