Career uncertainty leaves nearly half of unemployed young Koreans feeling burned out
Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- The Federation of Korean Industries found that 52.7% of unemployed young people in South Korea reported burnout, compared with 32.4% of employed young people.
- Burnout reached 61.8% among unemployed young people who had searched for work for at least a year and was also higher among temporary and day workers.
- Career uncertainty ranked as the leading cause, prompting calls for stronger vocational training, employment services and psychological support.
More than half of unemployed young people in South Korea reported experiencing burnout, according to an analysis that links the problem closely to uncertainty about their careers. The Federation of Korean Industries based its findings on microdata from a 2024 government survey on youth life.
The analysis found that 52.7% of unemployed young people had experienced burnout, 1.6 times the rate among employed young people, at 32.4%. The rate climbed with the length of a job search. It reached 61.8% among those who had been looking for work for at least a year, compared with 54.0% among those searching for six months to a year, 51.9% among those searching for three to six months, and 46.6% among those searching for less than three months.
The labor market conditions facing young people have been deteriorating, with the average time it takes to land a first paid job showing an upward trend over the past five years.
Job insecurity also affected employed young people. Burnout reached 41.1% among temporary workers and day laborers whose contracts lasted less than a year, compared with 29.6% among regular workers with contracts of at least a year. Career uncertainty was the main cause cited by 68.4% of unemployed young people. Disillusionment with work accounted for 9.9%, while 7.1% cited an imbalance between work and personal life.
Among temporary workers and day laborers, 57.0% identified career uncertainty as the main cause. Excessive workloads followed at 13.6%, and disillusionment with work at 12.1%. The federation said young people face worsening labor-market conditions and that unstable work appears to be deepening both physical and psychological exhaustion. It called for expanded vocational training, employment counseling, financial support for job preparation, workplace training, and psychological and emotional assistance.
The difficulty of finding a job and employment insecurity appear to be exacerbating burnout among young people.
About this summary
Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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