Record-high number of youth working without job guarantee

Some 46 percent of South Korean workers aged 15-29 had nonguaranteed contracts as of August, government data showed Sunday, marking an all-time high since authorities started the tally in 2003.

The proportion of nonregular contracts among the youth population rose for the fifth straight year since 2022, and soared by 14.2 percentage points from 23 years ago, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It is conventional at Korean companies to provide permanent job guarantees to workers with "regular" employment contracts, which account for 61.5 percent of all jobs as of 2026. Nonregular jobs refer to those without such job guarantee.

The proportion of nonregular jobs in the youngest group saw the most drastic rise from 2003 to 2026, while increases for other groups ranged from 7.1 percentage points among those in their 50s to 2.2 percentage points among 30-somethings.

The percentage of nonregular workers across all ages increased from 32.6 percent to 38.5 percent over the same period.

Data indicates that more firms prefer employees with job experience, even when hiring for "entry-level" positions.

A survey of 500 enterprises across the country showed in March that 67.6 percent thought work-related experience was the No. 1 factor they are looking for in recruits. The Korea Enterprises Federation survey was conducted from Jan. 19 to Feb. 11 at companies with at least 100 employees.

Major firms hire most new employees through regular public recruitments, and recent college graduates account for most of the applicants.

But last year's report from the Federation of Korean Industries showed that 28.1 percent of recruits had some experience in the field, with 46.5 percent of them having worked for between one and two years.

The ministry's survey also showed that 30.5 percent of college graduates said they took at least one semester off to bolster their credentials — more than doubling from 14.7 percent in 2007.

Many young workers are turning to the lodging or food service industries for their first job, as 15.9 percent of those aged 15-29 chose such a path. That was higher than for any other sector.

The youth employment rate for October was 42.9 percent, the lowest since 42.3 percent in the same month in 2020. The percentage of youth in the labor market was 45.2 percent, the lowest since 44.6 percent in 2015.