New Graduates' Employment Rate Hits Decade Low

The employment rate of new university and grad school graduates fell to 65.1 percent last year, its lowest level in a decade, amid a tough job market due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Education Ministry on Monday announced the findings of its survey of 553,521 people with bachelor or higher degrees who graduated between August 2019 and February 2020.

Excluding those who enlisted for military service or returned to school to pursue higher degrees, 480,149 people tried to land a job, and 312,450 of them, or 65.1 percent, succeeded in doing so as of the end of last year. The figure was down 2 percentage points from 2019 and the lowest since relevant statistics were first compiled in 2011.

Although the number of graduates increased by 3,167 from the previous year, that of those who found a job dropped by 10,608.

The number who started their own business decreased from 6,137 to 5,317.