The latest youth employment rate was significantly lower in nonmetropolitan regions than in the central Seoul-Gyeonggi Province area, data showed Monday.

According to the National Assembly Budget Office and Statistics Korea, the employment rate for those aged 15-29 in nonmetropolitan areas as of the second quarter stood at 39.6 percent.

Though slightly up from the previous quarter’s 38.7 percent, this figure remained 5.7 percentage points lower than the Seoul-Gyeonggi area’s 45.3 percent.

The lowest average among the 16 local governments was North Jeolla Province with 34.3 percent, followed by South Jeolla Province, Gwangju and Gangwon Province.

The number of youths who lost their jobs in the second quarter was the highest in Daegu and North Jeolla, standing at 14.4 percent and 12.2 percent respectively.

The overall employment rate, however, did not differ much per region, suggesting that the regional deviation hit the young generation hardest. As of July, the general employment rate in nonmetropolitan areas was 60.7 percent, a mere 1 percentage point lower than the metropolitan’s 61.7 percent, data showed.

The poor employment situation in the provinces led young job seekers to migrate to the metropolitan region, according to the Korea Employment Information Service.

“Gyeonggi, Incheon and Seoul all saw a population increase in the 15-34 age group in 2006-2015, while 11 out of the remaining 13 local governments saw a decline during the same period,” said Lee Sang-ho, a senior researcher at KEIS.

Lee also suggested local governments look beyond the conventional manufacturing-focused industrial framework to create jobs for youths.

“It would no longer be sufficient to expand industrial complexes and to create jobs there, as the manufacturing industry itself has been shrinking steadily,” he said.

“For the sake of long-term growth and youth employment, (governments) should take a more radical approach and nurture high value-added service industries, such as education, child care and medical care.”

(tellme@heraldcorp.com)