Average 10.9 Months for the First Job

After graduating from schools, young people of 15∼29 need the average 10.9 months to get the first job. The investigation said, “After they worked in the first work place for less 2 years (the average 22.4 months), they moved the work.

According to the regular investigation of economic activities population conducted by Korea Labor Institute (KLI), as the result of an analysis on an employment state of 523 young, it takes 10.9 months on the average to get the first job after graduating from school.

In terms of the period for the first job, there are 28.0% for ‘1∼3 months’ △ 21.8% for ’before graduation’, △ 9.5% for ‘one month after graduation & 9.5% for ‘13~24 months’, △7.1% for ‘7∼12 months’ and △4.5% for ‘25∼36 months’ in orders. There is also 10.1% for over 3 years (over 37 months) to get the first job.

In case of a man, it takes 14.2 months to get the first job. On the other hand, in case of a woman, it takes 8.5 months. The woman’s employment is easier than the man’s.

In terms of an unemployment period by school education, the investigation says that there are 7.7 months for ‘university’, △10.1 months for ‘college’, △17.6 months for high school & below. The higher the education is, the faster the first job is. In case of the woman, there are △ 5.1 months for ‘College’ △5.7 months for ‘University’ △11.2 months for ‘High School & Below’. It shows that the people who graduated from the college can easily to get the first job.

KLI said, “It took people who graduated in1991, 16 months to get the first job, but the unemployment period of the graduators in 2000 decreases to 4 months. It is because a weight of university graduators has decreased and their unemployment period has decreased.”

As the result of the investigation for the working young people, the respondents of 27.9% said ‘A major of the university is never related to the working life’. 26.9% said ‘It is not helpful’ and 54.8% said “The school studying is not connected with the working’.

KLI said “In case of the college graduation or university graduation, the woman said that the major is very helpful for the working over the man. The higher education woman said that the major is connected with the working.”

Besides, in terms of the average working period of the first job, there are 19.6 months for the man and 24.4 months for the woman.

In terms of the unemployment reasons of the first job, there are 43.2% for a dissatisfaction of the working condition, △26.9% for health, child care and marriage, and △8.4% for discordance between the major knowledge and working in orders.

Jin Lee leej@donga.com