The ratio of people in their 20s not working and unwilling to find a job has jumped, data showed Wednesday, suggesting that tough employment conditions are hitting younger people harder than other age groups.

According to the data by Statistics Korea, “economically inactive” people in their 20s accounted for 38.4 percent of the age group in September, up 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier. The figure is the highest since June.

Economically inactive people refer to those who are not working and unwilling to find a job anytime soon. They include those who gave up searching for jobs due to child rearing, housekeeping and preparation for future job hunting.

The number of economically inactive people in the cited age group stood at 2.38 million in September, up 46,000 from the same month a year earlier, the data showed. It followed a 75,000 increase tallied in August. (Yonhap News)