"Because of No Jobs"... 4 out of 10 Youths 'Took a Break'

Statistics Korea 'August Supplementary Survey on Non-Economically Active Population'
'Rested' Population Increases by 830,000... Total 2,322,000 People

Among young people in their 20s and 30s who are not participating in economic activities, 4 out of 10 are unable to find the jobs they want.

According to the "August Economically Active Population Survey on Non-Wage Workers and Additional Survey on Non-Economic Activities" released by Statistics Korea on the 1st, most young people not participating in economic activities are resting because they find it difficult to find the jobs they want. This is referred to as "resting," which means those in the non-economic activity population who do not have serious illnesses or disabilities but are resting.

According to the survey, as of August, the non-economic activity population was 16,163,000, down 83,000 from the same month last year. Among the population aged 15 and over (45,415,000), the proportion was 35.6%, down 0.3 percentage points.

The "resting" population increased by 83,000 from last year to 2,322,000. The number of people in their 60s increased by 52,000, and those in their 20s and 30s increased by 28,000 and 38,000 respectively. Those aged 70 and over decreased by 36,000, and those aged 15-19 decreased by 6,000.

Survey Results on the Main Reasons for 'Resting' by Age Group.
[Photo by Statistics Korea]

The reasons for "resting" among those aged 15-29 were ▲difficulty finding the desired job (32.5%) as the highest. This was followed by ▲resting to prepare for the next job (23.9%), ▲poor health (18.2%), and ▲lack of jobs (7.3%). Adding the responses "difficulty finding the desired job" and "lack of jobs," which are similar in context, means that 4 out of 10 young people are resting because they cannot find a job.

The reasons for "resting" among those in their 30s were ▲poor health (30.0%), ▲difficulty finding the desired job (29.9%), ▲resting to prepare for the next job (16.8%), and ▲lack of jobs (8.3%).

The reasons for "resting" among those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s and older were ▲poor health (45.7%, 48.0%, 41.0%) and ▲difficulty finding the desired job (27.2%, 12.9%, 10.2%), respectively. Among those in their 50s and 60s and older, responses indicating "continuing to rest after resignation (retirement)" were 13.1% and 33.2%, respectively.

Regarding this phenomenon, a Statistics Korea official said, "Younger age groups had more reasons related to work, while older age groups appeared to be resting due to poor health or as part of the process of finishing previous work and preparing for the next."

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