University Grads Take 1 Year on Average to Find Jobs

It takes on average one year for university graduates to land jobs, up slightly compared to last year, while more than half of those who do earn less than W1.5 million a month (US$1=W1,142).

Recent figures by Statistics Korea show it takes 11.6 months for young jobseekers to land a job after graduation, up 0.4 compared to last year.

Only 49.9 percent found jobs within three months of graduation, down 1.2 percentage points from last year, and 9.7 percent spent three years looking for a job, up one percentage point.

However, 62.2 percent of newly-hired university grads ended up quitting less than 15 months after landing their jobs. The main reasons for quitting were low pay and long hours cited by 51 percent of new hires.

Although the job market is increasingly tough, young jobseekers have paradoxically grown more picky.

Some 37.5 percent earned between W1 million and W1.5 million a month in their first job, 29.6 percent between W1.5 million and W2 million, and 13.9 percent between W2 million and W3 million. Some 13.4 percent made only W500,000 to W1 million.

As companies accept more interns, 41.9 percent of university students gained work experience while still in school. But 13.2 percent of university grads ended up never landing any job.