New data has revealed that the number of young people hoping for more work remains above pre-pandemic levels, indicating that the job market has not fully recovered yet. 

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the number of those aged 15 to 29, who were employed for less than 36 hours per week and were seeking additional work hours, stood at 117-thousand from January to the end of last month. 

The comparative number recorded during the same period in 2019 was 102-thousand. 

The figure is considered an additional gauge of the jobless rate. It surged to 148-thousand between January-November 2020, due to the apparent impact by the pandemic on the economy but declined to 146-thousand during the same period last year amid the economic recovery. 

Other indices regarding the youth job market have shown improvement, with the employment rate for the age group rebounding from 42-point-two percent in 2020 to 44-point-two percent last year. The number of the youths with a job came to three-million-877-thousand last year, nearing three-million-945-thousand posted in 2019.