대기업 채용 2년 새 15% 감소…청년 고용 비중 더 줄어

A recent analysis reveals a "centennial reversal" phenomenon in South Korea's major corporations, with a 15% drop in new hires over the past two years and a dwindling percentage of junior staff aged 30 and below. The human resource research organization, Leader's Index, examined the 2023-2025 employment situation of 132 domestic firms and found that while total employment fell by just 0.3%, the decline in younger workers was significant.

The number of employees aged 30 and younger dropped by 13.8%, from 26,734,343 to 23,443, while the proportion of those aged 50 and above rose by 4.8%, from 22,133,333 to 23,184,848. As a result, the share of junior workers in the overall workforce declined from 21.2% to 18.3%, while the share of senior workers increased from 17.5% to 18.4%.

This trend is largely due to the prolongation of the retirement age for existing employees, leading to a slowdown in workforce turnover. The study analyzed companies in South Korea's top 500 that have disclosed age-specific employment data and yearly recruitment figures. Similarly, the decline in new hires was evident in the 113 companies that disclosed their recruitment numbers, with a 15.3% drop in new hires from 10,945,656 in 2023 to 9,268, in 2025.

The proportion of junior hires in these companies fell from 56.4% to 51.1%. However, the proportion of senior hires rose from 8.3% to 11.2%. Industries with higher domestic demand, such as retail, saw a higher proportion of senior workers, with retail having the highest share at 31.8%. On the other hand, some companies have reduced their junior hires dramatically, with Hite Jinro cutting its number of new hires aged 29 and under from 82 in 2023 to one in 2024.

Despite this, growth industries such as semiconductors, including SK Hynix, saw a significant increase in junior hires, with a 10-fold increase from 739 in 2023 to 3,201 in 2024. Hanwha Aerospace and Samsung Bioengineering also increased their junior hires by 89.7% and 136.1%, respectively.