Youth unemployment hits 9.3%, highest in 17 years

Youth unemployment hits 9.3%, highest in 17 years. September. 14, 2016 07:01. by 세종=손영일 기자scud2007@donga.com.

The youth (ages 15 – 29) unemployment rate hit the highest in 17 years due to back-to-back decline in the number of employed people in the manufacturing sector in July and August. The soaring unemployment in Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province resulting from restructuring of the shipbuilding and shipping industries has affected significantly to the situation.

According to "August’s Employment Trend" released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the number of employed people (4.418 million) in the manufacturing sector last month represented a fall of 74,000 workers year-on-year. The drop is the largest in four years and four months since April 2012 when employment plummeted by 80,000. The latest report showed that the employment increased by 387,000 year-on-year due to improving conditions in the service and construction sectors, which is the biggest gain since December last year (495,000).

A plunge in the manufacturing sector is stemming from sluggish export and layoffs in restructuring of the local shipbuilding industry. The number of jobless people gained 8,000 and 29,000 month-on-month in August in Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, respectively. As a result, the jobless rates in Ulsan (4.0 percent) and South Gyeongsang (3.7 percent) were higher year-on-year in August, up 1.2 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points, respectively. The figures represent the highest levels since Ulsan's 4.8 percent in 2000 and South Gyeongsang's 4.8 percent in 1999.

The youth unemployment stood at 9.3 percent in August, up 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, which is the record high since 10.7 percent of 1999. The perceived unemployment rate, which includes people who are effectively jobless, such as those who are seeking other jobs while working as part-timers and those who are preparing for employment exams, came to 10.2 percent, which is nearly three times the overall unemployment rate (3.6 percent).