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Over 60% of large firms have no recruitment plans in H2: Survey

Published: 11 Sep. 2025, 10:50

Job seekers speak with company recruiters at a job fair held at Pukyong National University in Busan on Sept. 10. [YONHAP]

More than 60 percent of large firms 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 the survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), 38 percent of the nation's top 500 companies by sales said they have not yet drawn up recruitment plans for the second half, while 24.8 percent said they have no plans at all.

The combined share of such negative responses came to 62.8 percent, up from 57.5 percent a year earlier.

Among those with recruitment plans, 37.8 percent said they will cut back on new hires compared with last year, while 24.4 percent said they plan to increase.

"The portion of companies with no recruitment plans rose sharply, and those planning fewer hires than last year more than doubled," an FKI official said. "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 in the second quarter.

Companies cited rising uncertainties at home and abroad, and deteriorating profitability, along with growing labor and raw material costs, and a lingering economic slowdown as reasons for not hiring.

In contrast, companies planning to expand hiring said they aim to secure new talent for future growth and bolster their work force for new businesses despite the challenging economic environment.

Yonhap