South Korea's public firms and agencies will recruit a record high of nearly 20,000 new employees next year to take part in nationwide efforts to boost the employment of young job seekers, the government said Monday.
According to the recruitment plan compiled by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, 321 state-funded organizations will hire an all-time high of 19,862 new employees in 2017, up about 1,300 from this year's plan of 18,518. The figure had risen from 17,323 in 2013 to 18,932 in 2015. Public corporations and agencies are popular employers among young people seeking job security.
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South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks at a public job fair in Seoul on Nov. 28, 2016. (Yonhap) |
The Korea Electric Power Corp., the country's sole electricity power supplier, has a recruitment plan to employ 1,271 next year, followed by the National Health Insurance Service's 1,050 and Seoul National University Hospital's 873.
Asia's fourth-largest economy has been struggling with high unemployment rates for recent years due mainly to a protracted slowdown.
Its jobless rate has been hovering at around 3.5 percent for nearly a year, but the unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 29 hit an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February.
"Many young people are under a lot of pressure and stress due to the tightened job market," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said. "The government will create more jobs in a way that improves their quality of life and wellbeing." (Yonhap)
