The Korea Times
Headline employment figures suggest an economy on the mend. Payrolls have expanded by more than 200,000 for two consecutive months and the employment rate has reached a record high. However, beneath these indicators lies a far less comforting reality: Gains are unevenly distributed, and the young people on which future growth depends are being left behind. Employment among those aged 15 to 29 has been in steady decline for more than three years, with the pace of contraction beginning to accelerate. What appears at first glance to be a robust labor market is, for many young people, an increasingly inhospitable one. The causes are neither temporary nor superficial. Structural changes in hiring practices have raised the bar for entry-level workers. Firms favor experienced candidates and rely more heavily on rolling recruitment systems, effectively narrowing the gateway through which young job seekers traditionally entered the workforce. At the same time, key sectors that once absorbed large numbers of young workers — manufacturing, construction and service jobs — have been weakened by
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