A Study on the Influencing Factors on Job Satisfaction and Wages among Young People

Young people in Korea face considerable challenges in transitioning from school to employment. This study investigates the impact on job satisfaction and wage levels to examine the issues related to job transitions among young people. The Youth Panel Survey (YP2021_W1) were used. The average job satisfaction among employed youth is 72.48 points on a 100-point scale, and the average monthly wage is approximately 2,100,000 Korean won. Gender-based analysis indicates that women report higher levels of job satisfaction than men, whereas men earn significantly higher wages than their female counterparts. Among various factors, the disparity in job satisfaction and wages by educational attainment is more pronounced and statistically significant than disparities by gender or occupation. Job satisfaction and wage levels tend to increase with the size of the employing firm, highlighting a distinct disadvantage for workers in small enterprises. Notably, employees in medium-sized and large firms report comparable levels of satisfaction and compensation, suggesting that the primary gap lies between small and non-small firms. Regression analysis further reveals that, controlling for other variables, male workers exhibit job satisfaction levels 0.9 points lower than females, while their wages are, on average, 9.4% higher. Compared to high school graduates, vocational college graduates show no statistically significant difference in job satisfaction, whereas those with a university degree or higher report satisfaction levels exceeding their counterparts by more than 9 points. Wages are systematically higher among vocational college and university graduates, particularly among women. Additionally, the analysis finds a positive correlation between job satisfaction and wage levels, indicating that higher satisfaction is associated with higher or increasing wages. This suggests the presence of an accelerated wage gap in the Korean youth labor market, rather than a compensatory wage gap, where wage increases typically offset lower satisfaction. These findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions to address structural inequalities in job quality and compensation across educational backgrounds, firm sizes, and genders in the Korean youth labor market.