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The number of long-term unemployed individuals aged 20-30 with a bachelor's degree or higher has reached its highest in 13 months.

Consequently, the number of job seekers unemployed for over six months has hit a four-year high.

According to the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of the National Data Office (formerly Statistics Korea) on the 16th, the number of long-term unemployed individuals who have been seeking jobs for over six months without success was 119,000 as of last month, the highest in four years since October 2021 (128,000).

The number of long-term unemployed (hereinafter referred to as long-term unemployed) exceeded 100,000 continuously from May 2020 to December 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It had generally remained below 100,000 since then but surged last month.

Last month, long-term unemployed individuals accounted for 18.1% of the total unemployed population (658,000). This marks the highest level since statistics began in October 1999, when compared to the same month. It was higher than October 1999 (17.7%), when the aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis was still ongoing.

The proportion of long-term unemployed was in the single digits at 9.3% in April. It rose to double digits at 11.4% in May and has since doubled in six months.

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Highly educated young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher are considered the primary drivers of the increase in long-term unemployment.

An analysis of microdata from the Economically Active Population Survey by Yonhap News revealed that the number of long-term unemployed individuals aged 20-30 with a bachelor's degree or higher was 35,000. This is the highest in 13 months since September of last year (36,000).

When looking at age groups in five-year increments, the largest segment was between 25 and 29 years old. A total of 19,000 individuals are in long-term unemployment after obtaining bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees, which is the highest since March (20,000).

While the number of young people who have given up on job searching altogether ("resting" demographic) has decreased, the rise in long-term unemployment among highly educated youth indicates that the "job mismatch" phenomenon remains unresolved.

The number of young people who are "resting" decreased by 9,000 from the previous year to 409,000 last month. This marks the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year decrease.

However, considering that individuals who give up on job searching can move directly to the "resting" category, there is a possibility that the number of "resting" individuals may increase again.

More concerning is the increase in long-term unemployed individuals with higher education, going against the trend of declining youth population.

The youth population, which was 8.016 million in March, dropped to 7.994 million in April, breaking the 8-million mark, and continues to decrease by approximately 200,000 each month compared to the previous year.

Kim Kwang-seok, a researcher at the Korea Economic Industrial Research Institute, stated, "The cause should be seen as the so-called mismatch phenomenon where highly educated young people seek opportunities at large corporations, but large corporations prefer experienced hires. Job contraction due to $350 billion in investment in the U.S. and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology will structurally worsen the mismatch for young people."

[Table] Unemployed by Job Search Duration (Unit: 1,000 people)

※ National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of the National Data Office

[Table] Unemployed with 6 months or more of job search period and a bachelor's degree or higher (Unit: 1,000 people)

※ Analysis of Microdata from the Economically Active Population Survey by the National Data Office

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