New jobs for South Koreans in their 20s and 30s hit record low in Q1

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The number of new jobs held by people in their 20s and 30s fell to a record low in the first quarter, government data showed Sunday.

A combined 2.36 million new jobs were held by people in their 20s and 30s in the January-March period, down 23,000 from a year earlier, according to data from the Korean Statistical Information Service, an online portal operated by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The figure marked the lowest since the government began to compile such data in 2018.

The number of new jobs held by people in their 20s fell by 26,000 to 1.34 million in the first quarter, also marking a record low.

New jobs in manufacturing contracted by 24,000, accounting for the majority of the overall decline.

For people in their 30s, the number of new jobs stood at 1.02 million, up 3,000 from a year earlier.

Industry insiders attributed the decline in new jobs for younger people to the shrinking population of this age group, weaker hiring demand in manufacturing and companies' preference for experienced workers.

Meanwhile, separate government data showed that nominal earned income of households headed by people aged 39 or younger fell 0.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.

Earned income for all households rose 0.7 percent on-year, while that of households headed by people in their 40s, 50s and 60s increased 1.6 percent, 2.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The latest separate employment data also showed that youth employment, referring to people aged 15-29, fell for the 45th consecutive month to 191,000 in July, while the employment rate dropped for 27 straight months to 44.2 percent.