With a boom in the semiconductor industry, the capital market is even overheating. However, the cold..
With a boom in the semiconductor industry, the capital market is even overheating. However, the cold youth employment market is hardly regaining its warmth. In addition, as the industrial restructuring began in earnest due to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI), concerns grew that jobs that newcomers in society could enter would be eroded. According to Mail Business's analysis of microdata from the Korea National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) Economically Active Population Survey on the 23rd, 648,000 people were 'rested' among 2030 households last month. Compared to May 2016, the number increased by 235,000 in 10 years. 'Rest' is a case of responding that they are simply resting without specific reasons such as childcare, housework, and job preparation among the economically inactive population. Although they are not classified as unemployed because they do not look for jobs, it is actually an indicator of youth employment difficulties. Including 442,000 unemployed people in their 20s and 30s who were officially counted last month, 1.09 million young people do not have jobs. If 380,000 people are classified as 'job seekers' are added to this, it approaches 1.5 million. Another problem is that people in their 20s have the highest proportion of 'rested' among major age groups. Last month, 6.6% of the population in their 20s was 'rested,' the highest since 2014 when related data were released. The proportion of 'rested' in their 20s remained at 3-4% in the 2010s, but has not decreased since rising to 6.5% in 2020 during the spread of COVID-19. Although the youth population is decreasing, the number of young people who have deviated from economic activities has increased. The quality of jobs for young people is also deteriorating. Last month, the number of regular workers in their 20s and 30s decreased by 197,000 from a year ago. The decline was the largest since December 2020, during the COVID-19 period. In particular, 92,000 regular manufacturing jobs, which are considered stable jobs, have disappeared. Experts say that while the fruits of the economic recovery are concentrated in some industries, including semiconductors, office, management, and entry-level jobs that young people want to enter are rapidly shrinking due to companies' preference for experienced workers. The government has also started to come up with various measures. President Lee Jae Myung pointed out at a Cabinet meeting on the same day, 'The government should painfully accept the young people's alienation that even the all-time performance pay and the KOSPI are about a different world to me.' President Lee said, 'The younger generation, which lacks the opportunity to build assets through stable jobs and income, is the biggest marginalized people of the present era.' 'There is no royal road to solve the problems faced by the young generation at once,' he said. 'That's why it's important to make careful and steady efforts to give more opportunities to young people throughout the policy.'
Source: 매일경제