Conglomerates to Cut Down on Hiring This Year

Big conglomerates plan to cut down on hiring this year. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and job portal Incruit surveyed the nation's top 500 businesses and found that 180 want to employ an average of 126.9 new workers, down 2.3 percent compared to 2014.

The total is 22,844, down from 23,385 last year.

The top 100 businesses and those ranked between 301 and 500 plan to reduce new hires this year, while companies ranked between 101 to 300 will increase recruitment slightly.

Among the top 30 businesses, only 10 have set this year's hiring targets, and they plan to recruit 8,780 workers between them, down 5.5 percent.

Jeon Su-bong of the KCCI said, "There are no concrete signs of an economic recovery, while economic uncertainties in China and emerging economies have prompted businesses to set conservative hiring goals."