193,000 jobs added in March, but youth employment still bleak

Apr 10, 2025, 10:08 am

		0
Source: Getty Images

South Korea added 193,000 jobs in March compared to a year earlier, according to data released by Statistics Korea on April 9. However, the number of employed people in their 20s declined by 202,000, highlighting ongoing struggles in the youth labor market.

The surge in overall employment was largely driven by those aged 60 and older, especially women. Employment among people aged 60 or older rose by 365,000, including 236,000 women. Notably, women aged 70 and older accounted for 104,000 of the new hires.

Despite the overall gains, young job seekers voiced concerns over inconsistent and unstructured recruitment processes. One 28-year-old woman preparing for a job in banking said, “At first, I was devastated by every rejection. But now I’ve become numb. Seeing others repeatedly fail at the same interviews makes me realize I have to work even harder.”

#employment #youth #March