Youth unemployment raises household debt in young generation
- 9 years ago
It's an established fact that it's not easy for young people in Korea to find a decent job.
But what could be more worrying is that even if they do find a job, their income is rising at a rate that's in the zero-percent range.
Here's Arirang's Shin Se-min.
Korea's younger generation -- those in their 20s and 30s -- are having a rough time in this period of slow growth.
Youth unemployment is high, and those that have a job are finding that their pay isn't increasing much at all... especially compared to the salaries of Koreans approaching retirement.
Statistics Korea says the income growth rate of younger Koreans hovered in the zero-percent range last year.
The rate for people in their 50s?
More like seven percent.
The slow income growth for the younger generation is also having another unwanted effect.
They are having to take out more loans.... with data showing the debt level of young homeowners rose over eleven percent last year.
That's the highest in all age brackets.
So, it's even a troubling time for young Koreans in work, but a growing number of them don't even have a job.
Last year saw hundreds of thousands of people to find work,... but the youth unemployment rate actually hit a record high of nine percent in 2014.
In other words, most of the newly created jobs were snapped up by workers in their 50s and 60s.
And those young people with jobs often have to start their career on short-term contracts with little stability or upward potential.
A recent survey shows nearly a fifth of young people who found work last year were on a contract of one year or less.
Korea's Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also addressed the unemployment issue on Wednesday.
He said that,... while the official figures show more people are finding jobs,... tackling youth unemployment is proving to be one of the nation's most pressing issues.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
But what could be more worrying is that even if they do find a job, their income is rising at a rate that's in the zero-percent range.
Here's Arirang's Shin Se-min.
Korea's younger generation -- those in their 20s and 30s -- are having a rough time in this period of slow growth.
Youth unemployment is high, and those that have a job are finding that their pay isn't increasing much at all... especially compared to the salaries of Koreans approaching retirement.
Statistics Korea says the income growth rate of younger Koreans hovered in the zero-percent range last year.
The rate for people in their 50s?
More like seven percent.
The slow income growth for the younger generation is also having another unwanted effect.
They are having to take out more loans.... with data showing the debt level of young homeowners rose over eleven percent last year.
That's the highest in all age brackets.
So, it's even a troubling time for young Koreans in work, but a growing number of them don't even have a job.
Last year saw hundreds of thousands of people to find work,... but the youth unemployment rate actually hit a record high of nine percent in 2014.
In other words, most of the newly created jobs were snapped up by workers in their 50s and 60s.
And those young people with jobs often have to start their career on short-term contracts with little stability or upward potential.
A recent survey shows nearly a fifth of young people who found work last year were on a contract of one year or less.
Korea's Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also addressed the unemployment issue on Wednesday.
He said that,... while the official figures show more people are finding jobs,... tackling youth unemployment is proving to be one of the nation's most pressing issues.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.