Ministry of Data and Statistics figures show a rising share of South Korean workers ages 15-29 in nonregular jobs, reaching 46% in August 2026 after five annual increases, The Korea Herald reported Sunday.
That was the highest share since the government began tracking the measure in 2003, and 14.2 percentage points above its 2003 level. The Korea Herald said the share had climbed in every year since 2022. Over the 2003-26 span, the increase for young workers was larger than for any other age group; among other groups, gains ranged from 2.2 percentage points for people in their 30s to 7.1 points for those in their 50s.
The report describes nonregular jobs as positions without the permanent guarantee associated with regular contracts. For all age groups combined, nonregular work accounted for 38.5% of jobs in 2026, up from 32.6% in 2003. Regular employment represented 61.5% of all jobs in 2026, the newspaper reported.
Other Ministry of Data and Statistics figures reported by The Korea Herald put the youth employment rate at 42.9% in October, its lowest reading for that month since 2020, when it was 42.3%. The youth labor-force participation rate was 45.2%, its lowest since 2015, when it stood at 44.6%.
In a separate recruitment poll conducted from Jan. 19 to Feb. 11, the Korea Enterprises Federation surveyed 500 companies with at least 100 employees. Work-related experience ranked first among hiring considerations for 67.6% of respondents, The Korea Herald reported. The newspaper said major firms recruit through recurring public hiring rounds that draw many recent college graduates.
The Korea Herald also described experience as a growing priority in entry-level hiring. Ministry figures cited by the newspaper showed that 30.5% of college graduates had taken at least one semester off to strengthen their credentials, more than double the 14.7% recorded in 2007. The report said 15.9% of workers ages 15-29 began in lodging or food services, more than in any other sector.
