Half of job seekers willing to take nonregular jobs

Nearly half of job seekers are willing to become nonregular workers if necessary, a survey found Monday.

According to the survey by the online job information portal Saramin of 1,075 people seeking work, 48.6 percent said they were open to accepting nonregular jobs.

In Korea, there is a considerable disparity between the conditions of regular and nonregular workers in terms of job security, but also pay, working hours, benefits such as holidays and even social status.

Job seekers’ apparent openness to nonregular jobs does not represent an improvement in perceptions of nonregular work. The respondents said the lack of options was the main reason they would take the nonregular job, with 43.3 percent saying “getting a job at any rate is important” and 41.6 percent saying “there are not enough regular jobs.”

“At first I had specific goals, such as to become a producer for a broadcasting station or a journalist. But now I just want to start working,” said Song Min-ho, a 30-year-old graduate of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. It has been nearly four years since he received his degree in English linguistics, yet he has yet to land a job.

In the survey, 39.1 percent said the main thing they were looking for in a nonregular job was whether they could eventually become a regular worker.

When asked if they thought it was difficult to become a regular worker, 94.4 percent of the respondents said “Yes.”

According to Statistics Korea, it takes young workers ― those from the ages of 15-29 ― an average of 12 months to find their first job after entering the job market. Their first job lasts an average of 15 months.

The employment rate of 15-24-year-olds was 40.5 percent in 2014.

By Yoon Min-sik ()