Six out of ten job seekers are searching for employment but have little expectation of being hired, placing them in a state of “passive job seeking,” a survey found. The photo shows a section of employment-related books at a major bookstore in Seoul (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Six out of ten South Korean college seniors and recent graduates who are searching for jobs say they are doing so only passively, with little expectation of being hired, according to a nationwide survey released Monday by the Korea Employers Federation.
The survey, conducted between October and November among 2,492 fourth-year undergraduates and graduates from four-year universities, found that 60.5 percent of respondents engaged in “passive job seeking,” meaning they browse postings or apply sporadically without active preparation or a clear strategy.
More than 32 percent described themselves as “ceremonial applicants,” sending résumés mainly to gain experience, while 21.5 percent said they rarely search for jobs and 6.8 percent said they were taking a break.
Among those hesitant to pursue employment aggressively, 51.8 percent cited a lack of available jobs as the primary reason. Others feared they would not succeed even if they tried (22 percent), pointed to shortages in their field of study (16.2 percent) or said they could not find positions that offered acceptable wages or working conditions (13.6 percent). Another 37.5 percent said they needed more training or skills before applying seriously.
Students look at a job bulletin board at a university in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Job seekers overwhelmingly viewed the hiring environment as unfavorable: 37.1 percent said the market for new graduates was worse than last year, up slightly from 36.5 percent in the federation’s previous survey. Only 5.1 percent said conditions had improved.
Those actively pursuing jobs submitted an average of 13.4 applications this year, more than double last year’s 6.3, but won only 2.6 preliminary screening successes on average. The overall document-screening acceptance rate dropped to 19.4 percent from 22.2 percent a year earlier.
A majority of respondents — 62.6 percent — expected their job search to last at least six months, and nearly a third anticipated needing a year or more. National employment data indicates that long-term unemployment is becoming more common: among young adults aged 20 to 34 who were not working in May, 55.2 percent had been unemployed for a year or longer, up two percentage points from three years ago.
To improve youth employment, respondents favored easing regulations and improving corporate hiring conditions (29.9 percent), followed by reducing job mismatches through better career guidance and workplace training (18.1 percent). Others called for expanded vocational programs in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and big data (14.9 percent).
Lee Sang-ho, head of the federation’s economic and industry division, said high interest rates, inflation and global trade uncertainty, combined with tighter domestic labor regulations, have constrained corporate hiring capacity. He urged policymakers to ease regulatory burdens, expand tax and investment incentives, and carefully consider measures — such as extending the retirement age — that could further shrink opportunities for young job seekers.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
