Young Job Seekers Spend KRW 580,000 a Month on Job Prep... 7 in 10 "Feel Financial Pressure"

FKI survey finds:
Those preparing for three years or more spend KRW 800,000 a month
70.8% live with their parents; many rely on family support

About seven in 10 young people seeking jobs in South Korea were found to feel financial pressure during their job search. The average amount they spend each month preparing for employment was 580,000 won.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced the results of its "Survey on Job Preparation Costs for Young Job Seekers" on October 19. The survey was conducted by Mono Research, a polling agency, among 1,000 men and women aged 19 to 34 nationwide who are currently seeking jobs.

Results of the Federation of Korean Industries' Survey on Job Preparation Costs for Young Job Seekers. Federation of Korean Industries

The survey found that job seekers spent an average of about 580,000 won per month on job preparation over the past three months, based on the arithmetic mean. Asked whether they felt this expense was a burden, 69.3% of respondents said it was, far exceeding the 7.3% who said it was not.

Job preparation expenses varied markedly according to applicants' age, major, target employers and length of job search. By age group, those aged 30 to 34 spent the most, averaging about 600,000 won per month, followed by those aged 25 to 29 (580,000 won) and those aged 19 to 24 (560,000 won), with spending rising with age.

By field of study, those majoring in education, medicine or health spent the most, averaging about 740,000 won per month, followed by those in arts and physical education (690,000 won), natural sciences and engineering (550,000 won), and humanities and social sciences (520,000 won). By target employer, those seeking jobs at large companies spent an average of about 700,000 won per month, more than those preparing to apply to mid-sized companies (630,000 won) and small and medium-sized companies (590,000 won). Expenses also rose as job preparation periods lengthened. Those preparing for three years or more spent as much as about 800,000 won per month on average, a substantial gap compared with those preparing for less than six months (560,000 won) or six months to less than a year (520,000 won).

Fees for certification and language tests accounted for the largest share of expenses, at 30.7%. They were followed by education costs, including academy tuition (22.6%); purchases of exam-preparation books and study materials (16.1%); transportation (12.4%); and fees for using spaces such as cafes and study cafes (7.3%). Direct learning expenses, including test fees and private education costs, thus accounted for more than half of all spending.

Results of the Federation of Korean Industries' survey on job preparation costs for young job seekers. Federation of Korean Industries (FKI)

Most young job seekers relied on their families for housing and financial support. Some 70.8% said they lived with their parents, below the 45.6% independent-living rate among young people overall. Support from parents and family was also the most common way of covering job-search costs, cited by 32.8% of respondents. It was followed by income from part-time work (29.5%), personal savings (27.3%), and subsidies from the central and local governments (7.9%).

As a policy priority for reducing their expenses, young people most often called for subsidies for certification and language test fees (25.9%). They also expressed strong support for housing cost assistance, such as help with monthly rent (16.7%); job-preparation vouchers (16.1%); and transportation subsidies (11.4%).

Lee Sang-ho, head of the FKI's Economic Division, said, "While young people continue to face difficulties finding jobs, many job seekers are feeling the financial burden of preparing for employment." He added, "Support for language and certification test fees and educational course fees should be expanded, in particular, to ease the financial burden on young people from low-income households."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.