More Than 4.5 Million Koreans Are 'Virtually Jobless' Says Statistic Korea

There's an increase in the number of 'virtually jobless' Koreans that it already reaches more than 4.5 million as of last year. And by 'virtually jobless', that includes those who are still preparing for a job and those who were only able to work for a few hours per week. This will likely to continue as there's a lower probability that job market condition will improve considering the ongoing corporate restructuring and the current economic slump.

According to Statistics Korea, about 401,000 Koreans are currently preparing to get jobs without being enrolled at training or education facilities. That's aside from the 227,000 Koreans who are enrolled at vocational training centers and hagwon, or private institutes. So all in all, there's a total of 628,000 Koreans who are currently preparing to get a job.

Although those who belong to the 'virtually jobless' are currently unemployed, they are not really considered as 'unemployed'. They are not included in the official data for the unemployed since they are just considered 'economically inactive'.

There are also 1.6 million Koreans who are not included in the jobless figure because they do not have a plan to look for a job. These are those who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs).

Aside from that, about 1.3 million Koreans who are employed but only works less than 18 hours a week are also considered 'virtually jobless'.

All in all, they make up the total number of the 'virtually jobless' Koreans.

There's even a possibility that the figure will continue to increase as the job market condition is likely to worsen this year. This may is due to economic restructuring which causes the economy to have a hard time recovering.

Hyundai Research Institute said that the government must not only focus on pulling up the employment rate. Instead, they should try to create more jobs that will likely attract the young people.