It's an established fact that it's not easy for young people in Korea to find a decent job. <br />But what could be more worrying is that even if they do find a job, their income is rising at a rate that's in the zero-percent range. <br />Here's Arirang's Shin Se-min. <br />Korea's younger generation -- those in their 20s and 30s -- are having a rough time in this period of slow growth. <br />Youth unemployment is high, and those that have a job are finding that their pay isn't increasing much at all... especially compared to the salaries of Koreans approaching retirement. <br />Statistics Korea says the income growth rate of younger Koreans hovered in the zero-percent range last year. <br />The rate for people in their 50s? <br />More like seven percent. <br />The slow income growth for the younger generation is also having another unwanted effect. <br />They are having to take out more loans.... with data showing the debt level of young homeowners rose over eleven percent last year. <br />That's the highest in all age brackets. <br /> <br />So, it's even a troubling time for young Koreans in work, but a growing number of them don't even have a job. <br />Last year saw hundreds of thousands of people to find work,... but the youth unemployment rate actually hit a record high of nine percent in 2014. <br />In other words, most of the newly created jobs were snapped up by workers in their 50s and 60s. <br />And those young people with jobs often have to start their career on short-term contracts with little stability or upward potential. <br />A recent survey shows nearly a fifth of young people who found work last year were on a contract of one year or less. <br /> <br />Korea's Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also addressed the unemployment issue on Wednesday. <br />He said that,... while the official figures show more people are finding jobs,... tackling youth unemployment is proving to be one of the nation's most pressing issues. <br />Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
