청년 일자리 통계에 34살까지 편입…청년 고용률 10%p 이상 상승할 듯

Starting this month, the definition of "young" in the youth employment promotion special act has been expanded to include those aged 34 or younger. Consequently, the youth employment rate indicator will now reflect the population in their mid-30s. As a result, the youth employment rate is expected to rise by over 10 percentage points compared to the previous standard.

To address concerns of statistical manipulation, authorities plan to publish both the new and old statistics for the following year. The data center will introduce the new 15-34 year statistic starting next month, as mandated by recent amendments to the youth employment law. This change is primarily because those in their mid-30s are typically more active in the labor market compared to those in their late teens and early 30s, who may be focused on education or military service.

For example, the youth employment rate for the 15-29 age group fell by 1.0 percentage point to 44.1% compared to the same period last year, while the rate for the 30-34 age group increased by 0.4 percentage points to 81.8%. Overall, the youth employment rate for 15-34 years is estimated at 56.2%. Experts warn that the higher employment rate and lower unemployment rate among those in their mid-30s could create misleading impressions about overall youth employment statistics.

Kim Yu-bin, a senior researcher at the Korean Labor Institute, cautioned that the "appearance of improvement" could potentially mislead the public. In response, the data center plans to publish both the 15-29 and 15-34 year statistics for the next year before relying on the 15-34 year statistic as the primary indicator.