A Latent Profile Analysis of Unemployed College Graduates’ Work Values

This study aims to identify latent profiles of work values that influence the career choice of unemployed college graduates in Korea through a person-centered approach. For this purpose, a latent profile analysis was conducted using data from the third wave of the 2021 Youth Panel Survey, and the job-seeking status of each latent group was examined through cross-tabulation analysis. As a result, the latent profiles of unemployed college graduates’ work values were classified into four groups: 'Achievement-Avoidance Type', 'Value-Absence Type', 'Individuality-Seeking Type', and 'Growth-Oriented Type'. Across all groups, economic compensation emerged as the primary factor in career selection. This was followed by job security, achievement, work-life balance, autonomy, intellectual pursuit, personal orientation, and diversity/altruistic values. Regarding job-seeking difficulties, the five most frequently reported factors were lack of experience, insufficient information, lack of aptitude clarity, psychological burden, and income concerns. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for establishing practical and targeted institutional support systems to assist young college graduates in their job search.