Research Series

Chapter 1 Introduction: Background and Purpose of the Study
Chapter 2 Current Status and Performance of Youth Labor Market
Chapter 3 Labor Market Performance Gap by Gender in Youth
Chapter 4 College Graduates Returning to the Job Market and Labor Market Effect
Chapter 5 Conclusion
 

This study takes a close look at the major characteristics and current status of Korea’s youth labor market, analyzes studies evaluating related labor market policies and presents policy implications and improvement measures. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the stylized facts and labor market policies on Korea’s youth labor market and summarize related studies by area, methodology and policy recommendation, thereby contributing to laying the foundation for efficient policy formulation.
Korea’s youth employment rate continued to decline since the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis but turned around to a rising trajectory thanks to the recent increase in the number of those who found jobs. Youth employment rate, however, falls far short of the OECD average of 39.6%. Taking into account the presence of youth marginal labor that is not captured in unemployment statistics, youth unemployment issue could be more serious than is shown by the statistics. There is a pressing issue of seeking policy tasks and setting the foundation for policy formulation for the efficient fundamentals improvement of the labor market to address the declining and sluggish youth employment which is pointed out to be the major factor in undermining the economic structure due to the weakened labor productivity and growth potential. The importance of this issue is further stressed today with the Employment rate 70% Roadmap selected as a key national policy agenda.