The gap in employment between young men and women is growing as manufacturing, construction and AI-exposed entry-level roles shrink in Korea.
Young men in Korea are faring worse than their female counterparts in a worsening job market as weakness in manufacturing and construction combines with shrinking opportunities in information and communications, where AI is replacing some entry-level roles.
The employment rate for men in their 20s stood at 56.6 percent from January to September — 5.2 percentage points lower than that of women in the same age group, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Monday.
“I’ve steadily built up the qualifications I need, including various certifications, but it’s difficult to even get an interview,” said a 26-year-old male computer science graduate who applied to more than 40 jobs since graduating in February.
Related Article
The employment rate for men in their 20s first fell below that of women in 2011 and has yet to rebound. The gap widened to more than 4 percentage points in 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic and reached 5 percentage points in 2023.
That gap then narrowed to 4.8 percentage points in both 2024 and 2025 before widening again this year.
The number of young men not preparing for recruitment exams for jobs — referring to exams such as corporate recruitment tests, civil service exams and professional qualification exams — has also grown.
A record 87 percent of economically inactive men aged 15 to 29 were not preparing for any recruitment exams as of May, according to the Data Ministry. The figure includes university students and people who are out of the work force because of child care or housework, but the share has risen sharply from 80.9 percent in 2021.
Young women, however, are moving in the opposite direction. The share among women aged 15 to 29 peaked at 87.5 percent in 2024 before falling to 84.7 percent in 2025 and 83.7 percent in 2026.
Weakness in manufacturing and construction, industries traditionally favored by young men, is cited as a key reason for the employment slump. Jobs in information and communications are also declining as AI increasingly replaces some of the work previously done by entry-level employees.
The number of jobs held by people in their 20s or younger fell by 76,000 in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, according to the Data Ministry. Manufacturing jobs led the loss with 26,000 lost jobs, followed by public administration and information and communications each losing 14,000.
The spread of AI is also accelerating job losses.
Youth employment among people aged 15 to 29 has fallen by 285,000 over the past four years, from June 2022 — when ChatGPT was released — to June this year, according to the employment research team at the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Men accounted for 137,000 of the jobs lost in industries with high exposure to AI, compared to 130,000 for women.
“Men make up a larger share of workers in some of the industries most exposed to AI, such as computer programming,” Oh Sam-il, head of the employment research team at the BOK, said. “That means men in their 20s are being hit harder by AI-driven job losses [than women in their 20s].”
The effects are also being felt in manufacturing.
“Manufacturers are hiring fewer entry-level workers as they turn to more AI and robots, so men may find it even harder to land jobs,” Prof. You Hye-mi of Hanyang University’s College of Economics and Finance said. “Men also tend to delay marriage and having children more than women when they struggle to find work or their income falls. Policy support is needed to keep them from becoming socially isolated and to prevent further strain on Korea’s low birthrate.”
BY KIM KYUNG-HEE [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]