A recent survey by the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS) has found that six out of ten college graduates leave their jobs within 4 years. The results were announced on Thursday.

The KEIS surveyed 18,050 college graduates, who graduated from college in August 2006 and February 2007, about work experience. 40.5% of respondents stayed in their first job for four years, while 46.3% quit within 4 years. 13.2% were unemployed over the same period. Among respondents who quit their first job within four years, 47.3% left within one year, 28.1% before 2 years for a total of 75% quitting within 2 years.

Respondents gave a variety of reasons for their resignations, including discordance between college major and job responsibilities, discordance between vocation and interest, and dissatisfaction with income and working conditions. 79.1% of respondents earning less that one million won ($890) per month were the most likely to change jobs for reasons related to income. 68.2% of those earning 1 million to 1.5 million won changed because of income, compared to 53.7% for workers making 1.5 million to 2 million won.

(Translated by Kim Moon-hee, Intern)

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