Korean SMEs struggling to fill a record 149,000 jobs

[Source : Gettyimagesbank]

South Korea’s talent mismatch is deepening as many small businesses are struggling to fill a record number of positions, while job seekers want jobs that offer better working conditions and high wages.

According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday, the number of unfilled job openings at companies with five or more full-time workers stood at 149,000 in the third quarter of this year, up by 39 percent from a year earlier. The figure is the highest since 2008, when data compilation began.

Unfilled jobs refer to those that are engaged in recruitment and can start work immediately. The unfilled job rate was 15.4 percent in the third quarter, the highest in 11 years since the third quarter of 2011 when the tally was 21 percent.

The number stood out especially in manufacturing with 17,000 jobs unfilled, followed by lodging and restaurant business with 7,000, wholesale/retail business with 6,000 and transportation/warehousing with 4,000.

According to a ministry survey, 28.1 percent of job seekers answered that working conditions and wages do not meet their expectations and this is the biggest cause of the current job mismatch.