Job seekers are reviewing employment information at the “2025 Public Institution Job Fair,” held at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on January 16. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — As hiring at major corporations and public institutions continues to shrink, more than 420,000 young South Koreans have given up on job searching, reflecting a deepening employment crisis among the nation’s youth.
According to data released by Statistics Korea on February 10, the average number of employees at businesses with 300 or more workers stood at 3.146 million last year, an increase of only 58,000 from the previous year. This marks the smallest annual rise since 2018, when employment in large firms increased by just 50,000.
The hiring slowdown among large enterprises has been steep. After adding 182,000 employees in 2022, the sector’s job growth halved to 90,000 in 2023, and last year saw another sharp decline of 36%. The public sector is facing a similar downturn.
Data from ALIO, a public institution information disclosure system, showed that 339 state-run agencies hired only 19,920 permanent employees last year, down from 40,116 in 2019. Public sector hiring, which had already plummeted to 22,207 in 2023, fell below the 20,000 mark for the first time in years.
Despite efforts by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to boost youth hiring—such as awarding higher performance ratings to agencies with strong recruitment records—the decline persisted. Government officials attribute the trend primarily to a sharp drop in hiring by public healthcare institutions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for medical personnel, particularly nurses, surged, but as the crisis subsided, hospitals scaled back recruitment. Additionally, disputes over medical school expansion in 2024 have contributed to financial strains at public hospitals, further limiting hiring.
On February 10, a citizen fills out unemployment and job-related documents in front of a job information bulletin board at an Employment Welfare Plus Center in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Another key factor is the growing preference among public institutions for experienced professionals over entry-level applicants, mirroring trends in the private sector. A recent report by the Bank of Korea warned that first-time job seekers now have only half the employment probability of experienced workers, a shift that could significantly weaken employment rates for young adults.
As job prospects dim, an increasing number of young people are withdrawing from the labor market entirely. The number of South Koreans aged 15 to 29 who reported being “at rest”—meaning they are neither working nor actively seeking employment—reached 421,000 last year, an increase of 21,000 from 2024. This marks the second-highest figure since records began in 2003, surpassed only by the COVID-19 peak of 448,000 in 2020.
The surge in jobless youth, despite a declining young population, highlights the severity of the employment crisis. Analysts warn that unless hiring improves, South Korea’s youth labor force could face long-term setbacks, exacerbating concerns over economic stagnation and social mobility.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
