Two thirds of large South Korean companies negative on hiring

Although the economy is expected to recover with mass inoculations against COVID-19 happening worldwide, large businesses in South Korea are staying cautious. 

Some 63.6% of the largest 500 companies in South Korea surveyed said that they have no plans for recruitment, or have not yet made plans for new hires, based on data provided by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). 

Of the companies surveyed, 17.3% said they have no plans for recruitment at all, while 46.3% said they have not decided, reports Korea JoongAng Daily. 

Companies attribute their cautious stance on hiring to the sluggish economy and poor economic performance globally. Over 50% of businesses cited this factor as reasons why they were not hiring new workers, while 8.5% said they are pressured by the high cost of labour.

Meanwhile, businesses with plans to hire more staff cited the target of securing new talent as their primary motivation. Some 8% of them said they are hiring more due to increased demand for workers, as new businesses grow from the fourth industrial revolution. The need to comply  with social, environmental and governance policies were also cited as one factor.  

READ: South Korea aims to create 300,000 service sector jobs by 2025

The firms surveyed also noted that the increase in all-year-round recruitment, digital recruitment habits and a rise in the hiring of talent specialising in artificial intelligence are the current key recruitment trends.