Young Korean workers hit hardest as AI automation slashes jobs

More than half of the jobs lost by young Koreans in July were in AI-exposed industries, with the information and communications sector shedding 74,517 positions, its steepest single-month drop since 2014. The Ministry of Data and Statistics reported that employment among those aged 15 to 29 fell by over 191,000 year-over-year, with knowledge-intensive sectors accounting for 51.3% of the decline.

More than half of the jobs lost by young Koreans in July were concentrated in industries heavily exposed to artificial intelligence AI . This marks a dramatic departure from previous years, when youth employment dips were primarily driven by slowdowns in traditional manufacturing and in-person services. The latest figures from the Ministry of Data and Statistics reveal that the number of employed individuals aged 15 to 29 fell by more than 191,000 compared to the same period last year. Notably, the information and communications sector, which encompasses computer programming, telecommunications and digital media publishing, bore the brunt of this decline, shedding 74,517 positions. This represents the sector's steepest single-month drop since comparable tracking began in 2014. Simultaneously, employment in professional, scientific and technical services — covering fields such as legal advice, accounting, corporate consulting, and taxation — contracted by another 23,640 jobs. Together, these two knowledge-intensive sectors accounted for 51.3 percent of the total youth employment lo