College Graduates Working Part-Time... 3 out of 4 Young Adults Say "This Is Fine"

Statistics Korea Analysis: Youth Employment Rate Declines
Youth Population 'Resting' Increases by 40,000 Compared to Last Year

Among young people aged 15 to 29, 446,000 employed individuals work as part-time workers with less than 36 hours per week even after graduating from school.

According to the analysis of microdata from the Statistics Korea Economically Active Population Survey on the 3rd, out of 4,005,000 young employed people in May, 1,043,000 (26.0%) worked less than 36 hours per week.

Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Among them, 472,000 were 'currently enrolled' and 82,000 were on 'leave of absence.' These are estimated to be those who attend high school or university or are on leave while working part-time to earn living expenses alongside their studies.

Nearly half of the rest (489,000; 47%) were found not to work full-time even after completing their studies. Among young workers working less than 36 hours per week, 446,000 were in a 'graduated' status, 38,000 were 'dropouts,' and 5,000 were 'completed' (coursework).

Among young graduates working less than 36 hours per week, 74.5% (333,000) responded that they 'want to continue working as is.' This indicates that a considerable number are satisfied with sustaining their livelihood through part-time jobs.

Those working less than 36 hours per week who wanted to work more hours accounted for 25.5% (114,000). Specifically, 12.4% (55,000) wanted to 'change to a job where they can work more,' 9.1% (41,000) wanted to 'increase their working hours,' and 4.0% (18,000) wanted to 'do other work besides the current one.'

As of May, the young population decreased by 179,000 compared to a year ago, and the number of employed young people decreased by 99,000. The employment rate for young people recorded 47.6%, down 0.2 percentage points from the same month last year. It was the only age group with a decline in employment rate. During the same period, the employment rate for people in their 30s (79.1%) rose by 2 percentage points, and for those aged 60 and over, it increased by 1 percentage point.

The number of young people who were 'inactive'?neither studying nor seeking employment?increased by 40,000 compared to a year ago. In contrast, the numbers decreased for those in their 30s (-10,000), 40s (-12,000), and 50s (-11,000). Among the 2,247,000 inactive population, young people (386,000) accounted for 17.2%, the second highest after those aged 60 and over (46.3%).

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