Bin Hyun-joon, chief of the social statistics bureau at the Ministry of Data and Statistics, holds a press conference at the government complex in Sejong, South Korea, 15 July 2026, to announce South Korea added 63,000 jobs in June from a year, with the number of employed people tallied at 29.15 million. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
July 15 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's youth employment rate fell for a 26th consecutive month in June as companies increasingly favored experienced workers over recent graduates and other first-time job seekers.
The number of employed people ages 15 to 29 declined by 197,000 from a year earlier to 3.428 million, according to employment data released Wednesday by the National Data Agency.
The youth employment rate fell 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 43.9%. The decline began in May 2024 and has continued for 26 months.
The number of unemployed young people increased by 20,000 from a year earlier. The youth unemployment rate rose 0.9 percentage point to 7%, its largest year-over-year increase since March 2025.
