Growing numbers in 20s, 30s 'resting' with no reason

A person walks past a recruitment banner at a university campus in downtown Seoul on March 20. [NEWS1]

Around 660,000 Koreans in their 20s and 30s have been “resting,” or economically inactive for no particular reason, as of April. Experts say younger Koreans have higher standards for their jobs now, which has contributed to this figure.

People who are categorized as “rested” are those who simply choose to take a break from work: not studying, searching for a job, pregnant or parenting.

Of the 16 million people economically inactive last month, 386,000 people in their 20s and 274,000 in their 30s were categorized as "rested," according to the Korean Statistical Information Service Wednesday. The number of people in their 30s who rested rose 6.7 percent on month to reach an all-time high for the month of April. The number for 20s rose 10.8 percent on month to reach the highest since April 2020.

The increase came despite a plunge in the total population of people in their 20s and 30s, which was reduced by 281,000 compared to the previous year. The number of people in their 40s and 50s decreased by 110,000.

Those in their 20s and 30s are typically economically inactive for a reason such as studying for a license or searching for a job, so the number of resting people is usually lower than those of other age groups. But for the first time since April 2003, the number surpassed the total amount of people resting in their 40s and 50s (613,000).

“The number one reason for the economically inactive population’s growth is the reduced number of jobs desired by the younger generation,” said Yoon Dong-yeol, a personnel management professor at Konkuk University. The current younger generation tends to refrain from working at all unless they can work at a company or a position of their desire, Yoon added.

Incruit, a job portal website, surveyed 653 university graduates and prospective graduates in March and found that 54.4 percent said they want to work at a major firm with a desired starting salary of 39.4 million won ($29,420).

The number of new workers increased by around 350,000 last month, but the number of people employed in the manufacturing sector — such as semiconductors and automobiles — stood at 4.46 million, down 97,000 on year. The workforce of Korea’s backbone industries has been shrinking for four consecutive months.

The number of platform jobs that pay workers for assignment-based tasks, such as food delivery, decreased as well. Delivery work has been favored by younger people due to its flexible working hours and workload. But delivery demands were slashed as Korea entered the endemic phase and younger delivery workers opted to take a break. In April, there were 111,000 fewer workers in elementary occupations, or jobs consisting of simple and routine tasks, than the year before.

BY JEONG JIN-HO, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]