Youth Perceived Unemployment Rate at 26.8%... Record High Reached Again in One Month (Update)

Statistics Korea, June Employment Trends

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyunjung and Joo Sangdon] Last month, the youth (ages 15-29) perceived unemployment rate reached an all-time high. It also showed the highest level ever recorded in May this year, and it was surpassed again within a month.

According to the "June Employment Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 15th, the youth employment auxiliary indicator 3 (expanded unemployment rate) was 26.8%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. In May, it was 26.3%, the highest for that month since related statistics began in January 2015, but it has now been exceeded again. The expanded unemployment rate is a supplementary indicator that complements the unemployment rate and has the broadest scope, thus serving as an indicator representing perceived unemployment.

Jung Dongmyung, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, said, "The easing of social distancing measures in May and June this year seems to have led to more active youth job-seeking activities and recruitment interviews, resulting in a rise in youth unemployment." He explained that those who are "resting" or have given up job seeking are classified as economically inactive population and do not affect the unemployment rate, but once they start job-seeking activities, they are included in the economically active population, which raises the unemployment rate.

The decline in new employment, which began in March this year, continued for the fourth consecutive month. The number of employed persons aged 15 and over in June was 27,055,000, a decrease of 352,000 (-1.3%) compared to the same month last year. The employment rate was 60.4%, down 1.2 percentage points from the same month last year.

All age groups except those aged 60 and over experienced a decline. While those aged 60 and over increased by 338,000, the 30s decreased by 195,000, the 40s by 180,000, the 20s by 151,000, and the 50s by 146,000 respectively.

By industry, increases were seen in health and social welfare services (164,000; 7.4%), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (52,000; 3.4%), and transportation and warehousing (50,000; 3.5%). Decreases were observed in accommodation and food services (-186,000; -7.9%), wholesale and retail trade (-176,000; -4.8%), and education services (-89,000; -4.6%).

The number of unemployed persons in June was 1,228,000, an increase of 91,000 (8.0%) compared to the same month last year. The unemployment rate was 4.3%, the highest since June 1999 (6.7%).

The economically inactive population was 16,492,000, an increase of 542,000 (3.4%) compared to the same month last year. Those "resting" increased by 289,000 (14.4%), and those preparing for employment increased by 39,000 (5.3%). The number of discouraged job seekers was 538,000, an increase of 24,000 compared to the same month last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.