Seoul: The number of employed individuals in their 20s has decreased at the fastest rate this year since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, recent data revealed. This decline comes amid a growing trend of younger people entering the labor market at an older age.

According to Yonhap News Agency, data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) showed that the average number of employed people in their 20s was 3.38 million between January and August, marking a decrease of 193,000 from the same period last year. This drop is the most significant since 1998 when employment numbers fell by 550,000 during the Asian financial crisis.

The decline in employment was more severe than the reduction in the population of this age group. While the population decreased by 3.5 percent year-on-year to an average of 5.55 million, the employment figures dropped by 5.6 percent. Consequently, the employment rate for those in their 20s fell by 1.3 percentage points, reaching 59.1 percent, and dipping below 60 percent for the first time in five years.

Conversely, the employment situation for individuals in their 30s showed improvement. The population in this age group rose by 83,000 year-on-year to 6.94 million, with the number of employed increasing by 103,000 to 5.6 million. Their employment rate climbed to 80.9 percent, continuing an upward trend for the fifth year in a row since 2022.

Analysts suggest that these contrasting trends may be indicative of a shift towards later labor market entry among younger individuals.

Source: Yonhap News Agency