Jobseekers participate in a session at a job fair in Seoul on Oct. 11, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of unmotivated young adults deciding against preparing to get a job reached 500,000 last month, setting a new record high.
Among all non-working individuals in the country, 497,000 young adults “rested” for the entire month of February, up by 9.9 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea’s Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS).
Once a year, Statistics Korea studies the reasons for “resting.” Last August, 39.4 percent said they were unwell.
They were followed by those who couldn’t find work of their choice (18.1 percent), those who had retired and stayed unemployed (17.3 percent), those who couldn’t find work in general (7.8 percent), and those resting before starting to prepare for the next job search (7.1 percent).
The study, however, encompasses all age groups. It is expected that looking at young adults only, the percentage of the “unwell” population would be lower, while the percentage of those who couldn’t find work of their choice will be higher.
Some 358,000 people were classified by Statistics Korea as those who decided not to get a job, in accordance with international standards, a decrease of 155,000 from a year earlier.
Those who are part of the non-working population and are motivated to and capable of getting a job, but decided not to get one for labor market reasons, are considered to have given up looking for a job.
They should also have experience looking for a job within the year prior.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
