Touch Job Market for New College Grads

I was recently asked about the Korean job market and unemployment. Overall Korean unemployment is low, except for recent graduates..

JobKorea, an online recruiting information provider, notes only three out of ten jobseekers who graduated from colleges and graduate schools this February (2006) succeeded in getting jobs, showing the job market is tight for young people.

It seems that 28.5 percent of 1,728 graduates have been given employment notices from companies. The ratio was higher among junior college graduates with 32.9 percent, while only 22.2 percent of those who completed graduate schools this February got hiring notices.

By gender, the employment ratio stood at 29.4 percent for male graduates and 26.8 percent for females.

Those who majored in business management or economics were sought after most by companies, with 35.2 percent of them hired. Science and engineering majors showed the next highest employment ratio of 29.7 percent, while only 20.1 percent of social science majors succeeded in the first round of the job competition.

Among those who succeeded in getting jobs, 35.4 percent said they are working in fields that have nothing to do with their majors. When asked whether they a’re satisfied with the companies that hired them, only 37.8 percent said "yes."