Gov't to unveil youth jobs recovery plan in Q3, targeting 200,000 skilled workers

The government plans to release a youth employment recovery plan in the third quarter and roll out sector-specific support measures to address sluggish hiring among young workers and in the manufacturing and construction industries.

The plan will include initiatives to train more than 200,000 specialists in advanced industries such as semiconductors and AI, identify more than 200,000 quality public and private sector jobs by 2030, and mobilize all available policy tools for sectors with weak employment.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday they held a joint ministerial jobs task force meeting at Government Complex Seoul, co-chaired by First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyeong-il and Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Kwon Chang-jun, to review June employment trends and supplementary tasks under the youth jobs recovery plan.

The government intends to announce the youth employment recovery plan in the third quarter. It will center on three major mega-projects, training more than 200,000 specialists in advanced industries and fields preferred by young workers, identifying more than 200,000 quality public and private sector jobs by 2030, and strengthening incentives at each stage of labor market participation — from job seeking and hiring to entry and career growth.

The government will also conduct a detailed analysis of employment trends and their causes in the manufacturing and construction sectors, which have seen continued hiring weakness, and develop tailored responses using all available policy tools. According to June employment data the Ministry of Statistics released Wednesday, manufacturing employment fell by 97,000 from a year earlier, while construction employment dropped by 67,000.

The decision to prepare a separate youth jobs recovery plan reflects persistent weakness in youth employment. The employment rate for people aged 15 to 29 stood at 43.9 percent in June, down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier, while the youth unemployment rate rose to 7.0 percent, up 0.9 percentage points. The number of employed workers in their 20s also fell by 199,000 from the same month last year.

The government plans to announce a series of measures targeting vulnerable employment sectors — including youth, manufacturing and construction — through the jobs task force and meetings of economy-related ministers. With external uncertainty persisting, related ministries will continue to monitor employment conditions and strengthen their response to sustain growth in the number of employed workers.