UK Youth Shun Jobs Offering Less Than £40,000 a Year
Job Market Mismatch Deepens Youth Employment Crisis in South Korea
Wages Below Reservation Threshold Offer No Real Solution

Across the globe, young people are turning their backs on the job market—not out of apathy or laziness, but because the labor market is increasingly failing to offer them jobs that are worth taking. From the United Kingdom to South Korea and beyond, a quiet rebellion is taking place, rooted in dissatisfaction with stagnant wages, precarious job conditions, and the psychological toll of unfulfilling work. This phenomenon is not isolated, nor is it temporary. It is symptomatic of deeper structural issues in modern labor systems, driven by rising global competition, technological disruption, and the erosion of employment quality.

At the heart of this issue lies a key concept from labor economics: the reservation wage—the minimum amount of income a person is willing to accept in exchange for their time and labor. As more young people conclude that available jobs do not meet this threshold, they are choosing instead to “rest,” study further, or retreat from the workforce altogether. This growing wave of youth detachment reflects a serious economic and social challenge facing both advanced and developing economies alike.

The British Example: High Expectations, Low Rewards

In the United Kingdom, the mismatch between what young people expect and what the labor market delivers has reached a tipping point. Employment advisor Graham Cowley, speaking to the UK House of Lords, reported that unemployed young people increasingly refuse job offers that pay less than £40,000 per year (approximately 77 million KRW or 6.41 million KRW per month). His claim, initially met with skepticism, reflected a sobering truth: the traditional labor market no longer appeals to many young Britons.

Cowley noted that these young individuals are often digitally connected and socially active but see little incentive to accept jobs that fail to meet their financial or lifestyle expectations. “You may laugh,” he said, “but this is the reality.” Lord David Leonard Watts supported this view, stating that today’s youth are not irrational; they simply perceive that low-income jobs offer no future, and so they lower their ambitions or disengage altogether.

The data supports their concerns. As of the third quarter of 2024, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded 946,000 young people aged 16–24 as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). This marks the highest level since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. Nearly 60% of these NEETs are men, and the majority—around 595,000—are not actively seeking work. Only about 392,000 are classified as unemployed in the formal sense, meaning they are willing and trying to find jobs.

This growing number of economically inactive youth signals more than a temporary pause; it is a sign of eroded trust in the labor system. For many, the risk of psychological burnout, low wages, and stalled mobility outweighs the perceived benefits of employment.

South Korea’s Youth: Opting Out of a Broken System

Thousands of miles away, South Korea faces a strikingly similar crisis. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the country's youth employment rate dropped to 44.5% in March 2025, continuing an 11-month downward trend. Meanwhile, youth unemployment climbed to 7.5%, the highest in eight months. Perhaps more revealing is the number of “resting youth” now counted at 455,000—young individuals who are neither employed nor actively seeking jobs, despite being capable of working.

Unlike traditional definitions of unemployment, this group includes people who are deliberately choosing to step away from the labor force without medical or familial impediments. As Korean society becomes increasingly competitive and stressful, the concept of “쉬었음” (resting) has emerged to describe young people who disengage for psychological, economic, or existential reasons.

Experts trace this disengagement to a declining number of stable, high-quality jobs. One labor market analyst emphasized that “job mismatch” is the core issue. The public and large private sectors, traditionally offering secure, well-paid roles, have slashed recruitment. This has raised barriers to entry and left young people feeling powerless and frustrated. The result? A steady rise in those who have given up on finding a meaningful job.

A 2024 report from the Bank of Korea sheds further light. It found that 32.4% of young people who were “resting” had done so voluntarily due to their inability to find jobs that matched their preferences or qualifications—much higher than the 20.1% among those aged 35–39. Many others had been pushed out of undesirable roles in small- and mid-sized firms or low-paying, face-to-face service industries.

A Global Crisis: Youth and the New Economics of Work

What’s unfolding in the UK and South Korea is not unique—it is part of a global labor crisis that is redefining the future of work. Youth unemployment and disengagement are rising in countries as diverse as Japan, Spain, Brazil, and South Africa. In Southern Europe, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high. In the U.S., labor force participation among those under 30 has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, despite a low national unemployment rate. In Japan, the long-standing issue of "freeters"—young people working in temporary or part-time jobs without career prospects—has become institutionalized.

Underlying this global pattern is a harsh economic reality: job markets are becoming increasingly competitive due to globalization, automation, and corporate cost-cutting. In an effort to remain viable in international markets, companies are outsourcing labor, adopting AI, and minimizing full-time employment—all of which lead to fewer high-quality opportunities for domestic workers, especially young ones. As global firms race to the bottom in wage and labor costs, national labor markets struggle to retain their youngest and brightest talent.

The reservation wage offers a clear lens for understanding this shift. As the minimum compensation a worker requires to give up leisure and engage in labor, the reservation wage has been steadily rising—especially among younger generations who value work-life balance, purpose, and personal well-being more than previous cohorts. If available jobs fall below this wage—whether in terms of pay, benefits, or dignity—many simply opt out.

Moreover, the internet has dramatically changed how leisure is valued. Young people can now earn money, build communities, or learn new skills online—sometimes without needing formal employment at all. As the opportunity cost of traditional work increases, especially when jobs are unfulfilling or underpaid, the incentive to engage in the labor market weakens.

The result is a systemic failure across multiple economies. Governments are not generating enough attractive employment. Employers are not meeting the expectations of a more informed and empowered workforce. And young people, caught in between, are choosing to retreat.

Today’s global youth are sending a clear message: employment must offer more than just survival—it must provide dignity, growth, and a real future. The crises in the UK and South Korea, mirrored in labor markets around the world, highlight the urgent need for new policies and economic models that address the evolving nature of work. These include wage reforms, youth-focused employment programs, mental health support, and a revaluation of labor in the context of automation and global competition.

Unless these challenges are met head-on, countries risk losing a generation—not to unemployment, but to disillusionment. And the cost of that loss, in both human and economic terms, could be profound.