A hard job that is running out amid job shortages, gisa.

“We need 60 employees to run the factory, but there are only 40 now.” A casting factory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do.

“It is difficult to secure manpower because young job seekers are reluctant to do it because it is dangerous and difficult.” A shipbuilding company in South Gyeongsang Province

Employment slowed to an all-time high amid a slowdown in employment growth, indicating that the number of jobs remaining surged amid a decline in the number of employed people. The so-called employment mismatch, coupled with job search difficulties by workers and employers, intensified. The key reason was the ‘human resource training system centered on higher education for college graduates or higher’, and the decrease in the working-age population due to aging and low birth rates was also cited as the cause of the employment mismatch.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced on the 8th that the number of unfilled workers, which means the number of people who failed to hire despite active job openings, reached 154, the highest in the third quarter of last year, with 58,000 in the shipbuilding and root industries. This means that one out of four manufacturing jobs is empty, and the transportation and warehouse industry has not filled half of the jobs with 28,000 unfilled people and an unfilled rate of 514.

The government first cited ‘training workers separated from the field’ as the cause of the job mismatch, and most of the job seekers are highly educated and avoid simple labor-oriented jobs. As of 2021, Korea’s rate of completion of higher education between the ages of 25 and 34 was 693, the overwhelming No. 1 among OECD member countries. Japan’s 648 U.S. was 512 and the OECD average was only 469.

A government official said, “The employment rate of high school graduates has been lowered to 30 levels as young people have chosen to extend the job search period instead of getting a job downward compared to their academic background.” This means that there are many young people who want to stay unemployed until they get the job they want rather than simply working. In fact, according to statistics, the proportion of young people who took more than a year to get their first job is increasing every year to 266 in 2020 and 266 in 2021 and 289 last year.

The government also attributed the spread of youth avoiding employment in jobs with poor working conditions to job mismatches, with small and medium-sized manufacturers and simple labor services reluctant to hire young people due to low wage levels and high labor intensity. In the third quarter of last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s survey on the labor force of businesses by occupation showed that “281 mismatch in working conditions such as wage level” topped the list of reasons for not filling. According to a survey by the Korea Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, as of December 2021, the monthly salary of manufacturers with less than 300 employees was 3.77 million won, which was less than the average of 3.87 million won for all industries, and the monthly salary of lodging and food industries was only 2 million won. In terms of labor intensity, 124 points in the manufacturing industry and 135 points in the food industry far exceeded the average 119 points in the entire industry.

In addition, the government said, “We are concerned that the mismatch between labor demand and supply will intensify due to the accelerated industrial structure transition and the decrease of the working-age population aged 15-64.” This means that the government is also aware that employment, the foundation of the industry, could be swept by a huge wave of demographic change.