In an Era Without Jobs, Youth Choose Entrepreneurship

The government expanded its startup support budget to a record high in 2026, but the three-year survival rate for AI startups remains at just 56.2%. As the Door to Employment Narrows, Young People Knock on the Door of Entrepreneurship According to employment trends for March released by the National Statistics Office on April 15, 2026, the youth employment rate (ages 15–29) stood at 43.6%, down 0.9 percentage points from the same period last year. This marks 23 consecutive months of decline since May 2024, with the youth demographic being the only age group to experience a drop in employment rate. The number of employed young people has declined for 41 consecutive months from November 2022 through last month. With the scale of hiring by large corporations shrinking and the doors to public institutions becoming increasingly narrow, entrepreneurship has emerged as one of the escape hatches…