Despite high youth unemployment, small companies face labor shortage: survey

75 percent of new employees at small companies quit their jobs within a year

Published : Sept 18, 2019 - 15:38 Updated : Sept 18, 2019 - 15:38

Despite worsening youth unemployment in South Korea, more than two-thirds of small and medium enterprises here appear to have trouble hiring young people, a survey showed Wednesday.

Online recruiting company JobKorea surveyed 526 companies with less than 300 staff and found that 67 percent of the companies suffered from labor shortages.

The result appears to be in contrast to reports about worsening employment among young people. According to 2018 data from the Korean Education Development Institute, about 38 percent of college graduates failed to find jobs.

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By sector, manufacturing jobs topped the list, accounting for about 35 percent of the total shortage. Retail ranked second, followed by research and development, and information and technology areas.

Asked about the reasons for having trouble hiring young people, 43 percent of the surveyed companies cited the high standards of job seekers. About 34 percent of the respondents mentioned their poor reputation compared to big companies.

Even if the companies managed to hire workers, most of them quit shortly after being employed. According to the survey, about 75 percent of new employees quit their jobs within a year.

Among them, 63.5 percent left their companies only three months after being hired. About 30 percent quit their jobs between three and six months. Those leaving their companies after being employed for six months accounted for about 6 percent.

(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)