As of October, around 119,000 people have failed to find a job despite an extended search. This is the highest figure recorded in four years, according to the state-run statistics agency on Sunday.
The number of individuals experiencing long-term unemployment in South Korea, which the government defines as those who have sought employment for at least six months, reached a new high for the first time since the 128,000 recorded in October 2021, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (formerly Statistics Korea). This accounted for 18.1 percent of all unemployment in October 2025, which stood at 658,000.
Those experiencing long-term unemployment accounted for 9.3 percent of all unemployment in April. This increased to 11.4 percent in May and has since been on an upward trend.
October's 18.1 percent was the highest recorded since the data was first recorded in 1999. It was even higher than the 17.7 percent recorded in October 1999, when the country was still dealing with the effects of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Reports indicated that the increase in long-term unemployment was partially due to the recent surge in young college graduates struggling to find a job. According to local news outlet Yonhap News Agency, some 35,000 people experiencing long-term unemployment were in their 20s and 30s and had at least a bachelor's degree, marking the highest figure in this age group since the 36,000 recorded in September 2024.
Of these, 19,000 were aged 25-29, the age at which many Koreans graduate and enter the labor market. Long-term unemployment for those aged 25-29 was at its highest since October 2025.
The increasing number of young adults struggling to find employment contrasts the decreasing numbers of the overall youth population (age 15-29), which fell below the 8 million mark in April.
The Statistics Ministry announced last week that South Korea had logged its highest employment rate ever in October at 63.4 percent, but youth employment remained low at 44.6 percent, dropping 1 percentage point year-over-year.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
