Market Update: We break down the business implications, market impact, and expert insights related to Market Update: Employment rate among youths falls for 1st time in 5 yrs in 2025: Data – Full Analysis.
Published: 18 Jan. 2026, 15:23
A job seeker looks at listings at a job center in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Dec. 10, 2025. [YONHAP]
The employment rate for people in their 20s fell in 2025 for the first time in five years as a shrinking population and a weak job market weighed on hiring, data showed Sunday.
The employment rate for people in their 20s stood at 60.2 percent last year, down 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It was the first on-year decline since 2020, when hiring slumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of employed people in their 20s totaled 3.44 million last year, down 170,000 from a year earlier. The decline has continued for three straight years and has been accelerating, widening from a drop of 82,000 in 2023 to 124,000 in 2024.
The population decline has been cited as a key factor, as the number of people in this age group has fallen for five consecutive years since 2021.
But employment in the age bracket declined at a steeper pace than the population decrease, suggesting broader weakness in the labor market.
“In the past, many people found jobs in their 20s, but there is now a growing tendency for people to wait until their 30s in search of better opportunities,” said Yang Jun-seok, a professor of economics at the Catholic University of Korea.
Separate data by the ministry showed that jobs at large conglomerates totaled 4.43 million in 2024, up 17,000 from a year earlier.
But the share of jobs being held by the same workers rose 0.8 percentage point to 84.4 percent, pointing to limited job mobility.
Yonhap