Seoul: More than 60 percent of large firms in South Korea have no plans to recruit in the second half of the year or have yet to decide, casting a grim outlook for the job market, a survey showed Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) revealed that 38 percent of the nation's top 500 companies by sales have not yet drawn up recruitment plans for the second half, while 24.8 percent stated they have no plans at all.
The combined share of such negative responses reached 62.8 percent, marking an increase from 57.5 percent a year earlier. Among those with recruitment plans, 37.8 percent indicated they will reduce new hires compared with last year, while 24.4 percent plan to increase hiring.
An official from FKI noted, "The portion of companies with no recruitment plans rose sharply, and those planning fewer hires than last year more than doubled. The job market is expected to contract significantly in the second half."
By sector, firms in construction, food, steelmaking, and petrochemicals remained largely negative about hiring during the second quarter. Companies cited rising uncertainties at home and abroad, deteriorating profitability, increasing labor and raw material costs, and a lingering economic slowdown as reasons for not hiring.
In contrast, companies planning to expand hiring expressed intentions to secure new talent for future growth and strengthen their workforce for new businesses despite the challenging economic environment.