April 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A recent survey has revealed that there is a substantial wage discrepancy for young part-time workers in Seoul that is contingent on the neighborhoods’ economic status. The survey concerning the occupational ecosystem of part-time jobs for the youth was submitted to the Deobooleoh Democratic Party and was revealed to the public on July 4.

The survey stated that out of the 25 districts in Seoul, three districts in Gangnam experienced the highest increase in the recruitment for part-time employees, while the lower tier regions have seen a gradual decrease since 2013. To emphasize this the survey illustrated that the proportion of recruitment in the top five regions grew 6.8 percent in 2013 to 2016 from 36.1 percent to 42.9 percent, while the bottom five regions decreased 2.2 percent from 8.8 percent to 10.8 percent.

In addition, the survey also indicated that the part-time workers in the three districts in Gangnam took up 29.6 percent of the workforce, which accounts for about one-third of the part-time jobs in Seoul.

“There has been a recent increase of youth unemployment and NEET (not in education, employment, or training) in Korea, where an expansion of polices needs to implemented to counter these problems. For the younger generation, Seoul needs to utilize the various resources in the region to promote and educate the youth through counseling and relief work,” said Yu Yong, a congressman of the Deobooleoh Democratic Party.

In 2016 the survey showed that the top five job openings for the youth -- restaurants, convenience stores, liquor stores, fast food chains, and coffee shops -- accounted for 57.2 percent, 177,000 out of the 300,000, of the total number jobs available.

By Alex Lee (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)