Credit: Public domain.
According to a November 5 report by the Ministry of Data and Statistics 국가데이터처, approximately 16.2m Koreans over the age of 15 has not engaged in any economic activity. Approximately 2.6m of these were “NEETs” - unemployed, and not in employment, education or training.
The number of NEETs is the highest since the ministry began collecting data in 2003. People over the age of 60 accounted for the greatest proportion of NEETS, at 36%, followed by people in their 20s (16.5%) and people in their 50s (16%). Seniors cited health issues (38.5%) as the leading reason for inactivity, while the younger generation (34.1%) most commonly said they were unable to find a job that they wanted.
