South Korea: young men are losing ground in employment, and AI is only part of the story

By Korea JoongAng Daily · November 4, 2026.

The employment rate for South Korean men aged 20 to 29 was 56.6% between January and September, 5.2 percentage points below that of women the same age, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The gap had narrowed to 4.8 points in 2024 and 2025, and this year it is widening again. Young men have trailed women since 2011 and have not made up ground since.

First-quarter data show where jobs are being lost. Positions held by people in their 20s or younger fell by 76,000 from a year earlier, according to the ministry. Manufacturing tops the list with 26,000 fewer jobs. Public administration and information and communications follow, with 14,000 each.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) labor research team provides the figure most closely tied to AI. Employment among people aged 15 to 29 fell by 285,000 between June 2022, when ChatGPT came out, and June 2026. Of the losses in sectors highly exposed to AI, 137,000 were among men and 130,000 among women. The difference is small. According to Oh Sam-il, head of the team, men make up a larger share of fields such as programming, which is why they are hit slightly harder.

Another figure points to discouragement. According to the ministry, 87% of economically inactive men aged 15 to 29 are not preparing for any employment entrance exam, a record compared with 80.9% in 2021. The figure includes university students and those caring for children or the household, so it is not the same as having "given up." Among women, the share is falling: 87.5% in 2024, 84.7% in 2025 and 83.7% in 2026.

The source cites the case of a 26-year-old computer science graduate who has sent more than 40 applications since February without landing a single interview. It is an anecdote, not a statistic, but it neatly illustrates the problem the figures describe: the first rung of the ladder.

**Our take.** The easy thesis would be "AI is taking young people's jobs." The data say something more nuanced. Manufacturing and construction, traditionally male-dominated, are shedding more positions than information and communications. And the gap between men and women in jobs lost to AI exposure is 7,000 out of roughly 267,000. What the BOK and Professor You Hye-mi of Hanyang University do point to is a credible mechanism: companies are hiring fewer entry-level profiles because they are automating with AI and robots.

That mechanism matters more than the specific figure. The routine tasks that once served to train a junior are precisely the most automatable. If they disappear, the path by which someone becomes a senior breaks down. In general, this is a recurring risk in economies with heavy industry and substantial tech employment: the problem is not just how many jobs there are, but where the entry points are.

It is also worth separating cause from coincidence. A news report cannot isolate the effect of AI from the manufacturing cycle or cost-cutting. Those who blame everything on AI turn it into an alibi; those who dismiss it ignore the BOK's signal.

The short term is hard, and it must be said: a generation that cannot get interviews delays marriage and children, according to Professor You, in a country whose birth rate is already very low. That is a compelling reason for public policy to support the transition, with training, internships and bridges to growing sectors. In the long run, the bet remains that a more productive, abundant economy will free people to do what they are passionate about. But that horizon will not arrive on its own: it depends on those who are shut out of their first job today not getting lost along the way.