Unemployment Rates In South Korea Increases For The Third Straight Year, Up 9.2 Percent In 2015

New Statistics from South Korea's Statistics Agency indicate that South Korea's youth unemployment rate increased to 9.2 percent in 2015.

According to Korea Times, Wednesday's report indicated the highest statistics since 1999 despite the government's effort to introduce more flexible jobs into the market.

Korea Joongang Daily reported that in 2015 the number of unemployed people totaled to 1.23 million in February, jumping from 988,000 in January.

Unemployment in South Korea is caused by the great divide in the labor market. Employees are separated between those that hold permanent jobs and and those that hold temporary positions, Reuters asserted. Those that are categorized as permanent or regular employees enjoy security of tenure, whereas temporary workers only have two years of employment. 

As a result, young people find it hard to get establish a stable career track record or secure a permanent job.

The rate of unemployment among the youth has been rising every year. In 2012, the unemployment rate was at 7.5 percent while, in 2013 the unemployment rate stood at eight percent. In 2014, the rate of young South Koreans that were unemployed was at nine percent.

Reports also indicate that how young people start their careers also matters. According to analysts, if a young person in Korea starts an irregular worker with low salary, it is likely that the individual will remain as such. Additionally, major companies in South Korea are cutting their workforce. For instance, the financial sector laid off 48,000 employees in 2015.

"The low employment rate is a problem in itself, but how one is employed in the beginning also has a considerable impact throughout their later life, such as job security and how much they will be paid," said Kim Hyung Joo, an economist at LG Economic Research Institute.

Reports say had the statistics included the economically inactive individuals, the unemployment rate could soar to 20 percent.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has been making efforts to create jobs for the young people. As one of its measures, the government reduced the privileges granted to regular workers and corrected the salary structure. The government also addressed the issue of job insecurity at the beginning of the year.