More young workers start in nonregular jobs, widening regular employment gap: study
More young people in South Korea are starting their careers in nonregular jobs than previous generations. A recent report studied the first jobs of more than 14,000 people born between 1962 and 1998. It found that 33.5% of people born between 1989 and 1998 started working as nonregular employees. This was almost twice the rate of the generation born between 1969 and 1978.
The percentage of people starting in nonregular jobs has increased over time. It was only 12.7% among people born between 1962 and 1968. It increased to 17.4% for those born between 1969 and 1978 and 28.7% for those born between 1979 and 1988. This shows that younger generations are facing a less stable job market.
Young people who begin with regular jobs also tend to have more stable careers. Among those born between 1989 and 1998, people who started in regular jobs spent about 8 years and 3 months in regular employment during the next 10 years. Their average unemployment period was about 11 months. In comparison, those who started as nonregular workers spent only about 3 years and 1 month in regular employment and were unemployed for about 36 months.
Some nonregular workers were able to move into regular employment. About 71.2% moved into a regular job at least once within 10 years. However, it took them an average of almost five years to make this change. The other 28.8% never moved into regular employment during that period.
Long-term job stability has also decreased. Among people born between 1962 and 1968, 56.5% stayed in one regular job for 10 years after starting work. For those born between 1989 and 1998, this number dropped sharply to only 21.9%. The report shows that younger workers are more likely to experience temporary jobs, unemployment, and less stable careers.
Edited using generative AI tools.
Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20260911/more-young-workers-start-in-nonregular-jobs-widening-regular-employment-gap-study |
