[비즈한국] While the number of employed people in South Korea increases every year, the number of individuals actually getting hired by companies has decreased for two consecutive years. With a sharp decline in the number of job vacancies, the doors for new employment are becoming narrower by the day. Attention is focused on whether these new hiring shortages will be resolved as President Lee Jae-myung calls the youth employment crisis a "national crisis," urging all ministries to devise countermeasures and requesting that heads of major conglomerates increase opportunities for youth recruitment.
On February 9th, at the National Report Meeting on Economic Growth Strategy, President Lee ordered all ministries to pool their capabilities, stating, "We must take the reality of our young people, who are being driven to an employment cliff, as a severe national crisis and prepare special measures by mobilizing all national resources." Prior to this, at a 'Corporate Meeting for Youth Employment and Regional Investment Expansion' held on February 4th, he met with the heads of the top 10 conglomerates—Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong 005930, SK Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won 034730, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung 005380, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo 003550, Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin, POSCO Chairman Jang In-hwa, Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, GS Chairman Hur Tae-soo, and Hanjin Chairman Cho Won-tae—and requested they increase youth hiring, saying, "I hope the fruits of growth will be shared evenly with small and medium-sized enterprises, regional areas, and the new generation entering our society." In response, the top 10 groups announced plans to invest approximately 270 trillion won in regional areas over the next five years and hire 51,600 new employees this year.
The reason the President has personally stepped in to order government ministries to prepare youth employment measures and requested the heads of the top 10 groups to expand youth hiring is that new jobs for young people are shrinking day by day. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other sources, the number of employees in domestic businesses last year was 20.253 million, an increase of about 3,000 compared to 20.25 million in 2024. The number of business employees has been continuously increasing since surpassing the 20 million mark, rising from 19.536 million in 2022 to 20.049 million in 2023.
Among these, the number of wage workers increased by 23,000, from 18.955 million in 2024 to 18.978 million last year. Among wage workers, the number of permanent employees increased by 12,000 from 17.04 million to 17.052 million during the same period, while temporary and daily workers increased by 11,000 from 1.915 million to 1.926 million.
Although employment appears to be improving as the total number of business employees increases every year, the number of newly hired workers (entrants) is decreasing annually. Last year, the number of new hires in businesses was 928,000, a decrease of 34,000 compared to 964,000 in 2024. This figure is the lowest since 2020, when it stood at 917,000. New hires for permanent positions fell from 409,000 in 2024 to 404,000 last year, and temporary/daily hires dropped from 555,000 to 524,000 during the same period.
As the number of new hires decreases, the entry rate—which shows the proportion of newly hired or experienced workers among the total workforce—has fallen below the 5% mark. The entry rate, which was 5.3% in 2020, rose to 5.8% in 2021, but fell to 5.5% in both 2022 and 2023, and further dropped to 5.1% in 2024. Last year, the entry rate hit 4.9%, dipping below the 5% threshold. A low entry rate signifies that companies are refraining from hiring due to economic stagnation and internal and external uncertainties.
In fact, despite companies reducing new and experienced hires, the number of job vacancies has plummeted to levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of job vacancies this year is 155,000, a decrease of 33,000 from last year's 188,000. Among these, the number of permanent job vacancies decreased from 169,000 last year to 137,000 this year.
The number of job vacancies stood at 213,000 in 2018, but fell to 178,000 in 2019 when COVID-19 began to spread, and further declined to 127,000 in 2020. It subsequently rebounded to 166,000 in 2021 and rose to 221,000 in 2022. However, it decreased again to 211,000 in 2023, fell below 200,000 last year, and dropped to the 150,000 level this year.