"Real Estate Is Someone Else's Problem... Please Create Jobs" Unemployment Rate Hits 20-Year High... Youth Pushed to the Edge

420,000 Fewer Employed in October... Youth Say "Stocks and Real Estate Are Others' Stories"
Experts: "What Youth Want Is Job Creation, Not Employment Support"

Students are concentrating on their studies at a university library in Seoul./Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and Juhee Kang] Amid the prolonged economic recession caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of employed people last month decreased at the largest rate in six months, and the unemployment rate reached its highest level in 20 years. As the employment shock continues, the worries of young people are deepening, but there are criticisms that there are no practical measures to create jobs.

Experts emphasized that it is more important to create sustainable and developing jobs rather than policies in the form of employment support.

A young person, Lee (28), who said he is preparing for employment, expressed frustration, saying, "When I watch the news, it’s all about real estate, whether social or political issues, and it feels like it’s about another country. Adults worry about taxes and whether to buy or sell a house, but we worry about not having living expenses for next month."

Lee continued, "I used to think that if I worked hard, built up my specs, and tried my best, it would be enough, but now there aren’t even any jobs. They keep talking about young people, but I don’t know what has really improved. The government gives employment subsidies, disaster relief funds, and unemployment benefits to support young people, but in the end, aren’t these just one-time measures?"

According to the 'October Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 11th, the number of employed people last month was 27,088,000, down 421,000 from the same month last year. This is the largest decrease in six months since April (476,000).

Although the number of employed people has been decreasing every month since March, when the spread of COVID-19 intensified, the rate of decrease peaked in April and then shrank to 392,000 in May, 352,000 in June, 277,000 in July, and 274,000 in August. However, in September, the decrease widened again to 392,000, and last month it exceeded 400,000, marking the largest increase in six months.

In particular, the decrease in the number of employed people in the 20s and 30s youth generation was higher than in other age groups. By age group, only those in their 60s (375,000) saw an increase in employment, while employment decreased in ▲15-29 years old (-250,000) ▲30-39 years old (-240,000) ▲40-49 years old (-192,000) ▲50-59 years old (-114,000).

Photo by Yonhap News

The unemployment rate also appeared serious. Last month, the unemployment rate was 3.7%, up 0.7 percentage points from the same month last year, marking the highest level in 20 years since October 2000 (3.7%). The youth unemployment rate was 8.3%, the highest in two years since October 2018 (8.4%).

Choi (29), who recently lost his job, lamented, "Even if I get a job, they hire for short-term contracts of six months or one year, and even if I try to find a place where I can work longer, there are no quality jobs. I’m trying to prepare for employment again by doing part-time jobs, but it’s hard to find short-term part-time jobs that last only 3 to 4 hours."

Choi added, "Meanwhile, every day there’s news about house prices rising crazily, but buying my own home feels like a distant story in the far future, and I’m not even sure if it’s possible," adding, "When I hear stories on the internet about how much real estate prices have risen or how much someone earned from stock investments, I just feel empty."

As young people’s employment anxiety continues, the government announced that it will make every effort to overcome the shock to the employment market.

President Moon Jae-in said at the Blue House senior secretaries meeting on the 19th of last month regarding the worsening employment statistics, "My heart is very heavy with the worries of young people. It was a reminder of how much the resurgence of COVID-19 adversely affects our economy and jobs. Now is the golden time for economic rebound. We will make every effort to quickly overcome the shock to the employment market."

He also announced plans to △complete emergency employment stability support △supply 300,000 public sector jobs within the year △swiftly execute 1.03 million public job projects next year △and fully promote the Korean New Deal.

Meanwhile, experts emphasized the need to create sustainable and developing jobs rather than policies in the form of employment support.

Professor Kim Taegi of Dankook University’s Department of Economics said, "Currently, there are no employment measures for people in their 20s in government policies. Although support such as employment subsidies is provided for young people’s employment, since they are unemployed, it is welfare-type cash support, not a job policy."

He added, "While the poor economy is a problem, it is fundamentally difficult to solve the youth employment problem unless the structure where the older generation occupies young people’s jobs changes. This should be taken seriously and addressed. Rather than focusing on public sector jobs, it is important to create sustainable jobs related to newly developing industries such as the 4th industrial revolution."

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