The number of employed people aged 15 to 29 fell by 191,000 from a year earlier to 3.44 million, while their employment rate dropped 1.6 percentage points to 44.2 percent, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The youth unemployment rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 6.8 percent, the steepest increase since January 2021. Employment among people in their 20s alone fell by 204,000.
The headline labor-market numbers were better.
The total number of employed people aged 15 and older increased by 108,000 from a year earlier to 29.136 million, accelerating from a gain of 63,000 in June.
The improvement, however, continued to bypass sectors that traditionally provide a large share of regular jobs.
Manufacturing shed 68,000 jobs, extending its decline to a 25th consecutive month, while construction lost 57,000 jobs for a 27th straight month. Professional, scientific and technical services cut another 44,000 jobs, marking an eighth consecutive monthly decline.
The weakness in manufacturing employment has persisted even as South Korea's export engine has accelerated. Semiconductor exports surged 179 percent in July from a year earlier and total outbound shipments jumped 62.8 percent to $98.89 billion.
The age breakdown exposed an equally stark divide.
Employment among people aged 60 and older increased by 231,000, more than twice the economy's overall net job gain, while employment among those in their 40s fell by 31,000 in addition to the 204,000 decline among people in their 20s.
Health and social welfare services led job creation with an increase of 173,000, while agriculture, forestry and fisheries lost 80,000 jobs.
Non-wage employment, including the self-employed and unpaid family workers, increased by 119,000.
The overall employment rate edged down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier to 63.3 percent. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage point to 2.6 percent, with the number of unemployed increasing by 50,000 to 776,000.
The economically inactive population increased by 99,000 to 16.103 million. Among them, the number of people classified as simply "resting" fell by 62,000 to 2.518 million, while discouraged job seekers declined by 18,000 to 378,000.
The ministry said it will begin publishing additional employment indicators for people aged 15 to 34 from its September employment report due in October, reflecting a revision to the Special Act on the Promotion of Youth Employment that expands the statutory definition of youth.
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