Yonhap Over half of young Koreans seeking jobs are preparing to take state examinations to become public servants or certified professionals , a report by the Korea Employment Information Service showed Sunday . The number of those aged 15 - 29 preparing for employment surged to 542 , 000 last year , compared to 410 , 000 in 2014 , 410 , 000 in 2011 , 442 , 000 in 2010 and 455 , 000 in 2008 . The report explained that the rise in the number of job seekers appeared to be proportional to the economic slowdown . Among job seekers aged 20 - 24 , those who were preparing to take state exams or who have done so already reached 47 . 9 percent . It was higher , at 53 . 9 percent , for those aged 25 - 29 . The largest number , or 45 . 5 percent , of them were preparing to become entry - level , or 9 th grade , public servants . Following were those readying to take exams to become teachers ( 14 . 9 percent ) , accountants and other professionals ( 12 . 0 percent ) and slightly higher - ranking 7 th grade public servants and other positions in public service ( 4 . 6 percent ) .   The report said the trend appeared to show the rising preference toward securing more stable employment in the midst of an economic slump . The phenomenon was also evident in another report also released by the agency Sunday . By tracing the job statuses of some 18 , 000 college graduates aged 20 - 34 , it showed that 72 . 1 percent of them had succeeded in landing their first job as of 2014 . Of those graduates , 10 . 4 percent were hired by large companies with at least 300 employees as regular workers . The other 34 . 3 percent were hired as regular workers at smaller businesses , 21 . 2 percent as irregular workers at small or medium - sized businesses and 6 . 1 percent as irregular employees at large businesses . The wage gap was significant , with the monthly salary of irregular workers at big companies rating 77 . 1 percent of that of regular workers . Comparatively , the figure was 76 . 0 percent for regular workers and 68 . 7 for irregular workers at smaller businesses . While only 12 . 3 percent of college graduates with regular jobs at bigger companies left , 27 . 9 percent of those with regular positions in smaller companies and 29 . 3 percent of irregular workers at bigger companies did so . Some 40 . 8 percent of irregular workers at smaller companies quit . Regular workers regardless of the company size tended to quit to seek for better work opportunities , while irregular workers left as their contract period ended , the report said . “ Involuntary resignation of young college graduates create additional cost for reemployment , and acts as a factor to raise the unemployment rate , ” said researcher Kim Ha - young . Kim added that the results showcased the importance of creating a labor market that enabled young college graduates to settle down . ( khnews @ heraldcorp . com ) <ⓒ KoreaHerald ( www . koreaherald . com ) 무단 전재 및 재 배포 금지 >