Unemployment Rate in Younger Generation Reaches Seven Percent Again

In another sign of the continuing economic slump, the unemployment rate for 15 to 29 year olds rose to seven percent in October.

The unemployment rate for people in their 30s reached 3.1 percent, the highest rate in twenty months, since last February, indicating that the employment situation for people in their 20s and 30s is growing worse.

Meanwhile, it took an average of 12.4 months for young people to find jobs after graduation or dropping out of school, an increase over last year’s average of 11.7 months.

According to statistics from the Korea National Statistical Office, the total number of unemployed people rose by 4.8 percent (35,000) to 765,000 in October, an increase from last month when the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent.

Compared to last October, the total number of unemployed increased by 126,000 (19.7 percent), and the unemployment rate rose half a percent.

Unemployment caused by seasonal factors such as graduation and the end of the farming season reached 3.7 percent, the highest level since August 2001.

Although the unemployment rate for 15 to 29 year olds fell to 6.9 percent in August and 6.6 percent in September, it rose to 7.3 percent this month, with the number of unemployed increasing by 36,000 to 356,000.

The unemployment rate for people in their 30s reached 3.1 percent this month, an increase of 0.1 percent over last month, continuing the 3 month long upward trend. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for people in their 40s and 50s dropped 0.1 percent to 2.0 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. With the worsening employment situation, the number of people who have given up trying to find a job reached 94,000 this October, almost doubling from last month’s figure of 48,000.

Sun Zu-dae, senior director of the Social Statistics Bureau in the Korea National Statistical Office explained, “Usually, the unemployment rate in October decreases by about 0.1 percent from September. However, this year the unemployment rate in October increased from September, because the economic downturn has caused the overall employment situation to be bad.”

Kwang-Hyun Kim Kyung-Joon Chung kkh@donga.com news91@donga.com