hankyoreh

The ratio of new employees in their 30s who got their first job after college more than doubled after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, which also hit South Korea, a survey found.

The survey of 1,081 workers, was conducted by Internet job portal Incruit and the research company Mbrain. Among those who got their first job after 1998, 23.8 percent, or 331 people, said they had secured jobs in their 30s, while 10.3 percent, or 79 people, said they had secured jobs in their 20s. In contrast, the ratio of new employees who got their first job under the age 25 was at 11.3 percent before 1998, compared to 24.2 percent after 1998, the survey said.

The survey also found that the average age of new employees who secured their first job after 1998 rose to 28.5, from 26.5 before 1998. By gender, the average number of male employees rose to 28.8 from 26.8 and that of female employees climbed to 27.7 from 25.3.

In the wake of the Asian financial crisis, jobseekers also spent more time looking for jobs, reflecting a continued decline in the job market which had begun in 1998. The ratio of employees who spent more than six months on job hunting after graduating from university rose to 37.9 percent after 1998, up from 31.4 percent before 1998.

The ratio of employees who took part-time jobs with the hope that it would assist them in their quest for full-time jobs, jumped to 67.2 percent from 43.2 percent. And the ratio of employees who studied English or other languages overseas rose to 12.5 percent from 6.9 percent.

The survey also found that the ratio of employees who took time off from school in order to look for jobs, grew to 27 percent from 17.1 percent.



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