More Young Men Giving Up Job Search

The number of men in their mid-to-late 20s who have given up looking for work exceeded 400,000 last month. This is the highest the number has been since the National Statistical Office started keeping statistics in June 1999.

One reason for this is, as unemployment increases, many college graduate males are giving up job searching and are entering into a period of long-term employment preparation.

According to the National Statistical Office yesterday, the number of economically inactive men in their mid-to-late 20s increased 15.4 percent to 404,000 last month, up from 350,000 same time last year. The economically inactive population refers to the number of people who have not been searching for jobs during the last four weeks.

This is the first time that the number of economically inactive men in this age group has reached the 400,000 mark.

The number of economically inactive people in their mid-to-late 20s has continuously increased from 327,000 in November 1999, to 329,000 in November 2001, to 343,000 in November 2003, to 350,000 in November 2004.

A National Statistical Office official explained, “Many college graduate males are studying for a government official job or a professional certification in order to gain a stable occupation, and many have entered a graduate program to avoid the current difficulties in the job market. Thus, the economically inactive population has grown.”

On the other hand, the number of economically inactive women in their mid-to-late 20s decreased 7.4 percent to 613,000 people last month, down from 662,000 people same time last year.

The National Statistical Office explained that there are fewer women in this age group giving up employment due to child care or household issues because women are getting married later.

Chang-Won Kim changkim@donga.com