Seoul citizens commute to work on Aug 21 near Gwanghwamun Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. - Photo: Yonhap
SEOUL: Some 57.5 per cent of major corporations in South Korea have either not set up plans to recruit new employees in the second half of this year or do not plan to hire at all, a survey showed Thursday (Aug 29).
In a recent survey of the top 500 companies by sales, 40 per cent said they do not yet have plans to hire college graduates while 17.5 per cent said they are not looking for recruits.
The poll was conducted on Aug 5-19 by local pollster Research and Research, under the commission of the Federation of Korean Industries.
The percentage of companies with recruitment plans increased from 35.4 per cent to 42.5 per cent compared to the same survey conducted in the same period last year.
But the percentage of companies set to hire no new employees out of college also increased from 16.6 per cent to 17.5 per cent.
The percentage of undecided companies went from 48 per cent in 2023 to 40 per cent in 2024, leaving it unclear whether the job market prospect for H2 this year will improve from last year.
"Companies in recent years have been opting to flexibly adjust the period and size of their recruitment, instead of hiring a fixed number of people in a set period," the FKI said about the report.
When asked why they would not hire new recruits, 23.8 per cent of the companies said they are reducing spending to respond to potential uncertainties in management or reduced profit.
Another 20 percent cited a prolonged economic downturn, while 17.5 per cent said they are having difficulty procuring potential employees with the necessary skills to carry out their duties.
In a separate January survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation, around 57.5 per cent of the top 500 companies replied they would hire about the same number of college graduates as last year.
Only 14.7 per cent said they planned to hire more new employees than last year. - The Korea Herald/ANN
