Lee urges job seekers to look for opportunities at smaller companies

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Monday asked job seekers to
look for work with the nation's smaller firms, which are suffering from a
shortage of manpower as people shun them in favor of larger corporations.

The imbalance in the job market is keeping the country's unemployment rate up
while small- and medium-sized businesses are short some 200,000 employees, Lee
said in his biweekly national radio address.
"Our unemployment rate is somewhat lower than those of the U.S. and some advanced
countries of Europe. But we must acknowledge that our job market situation for
the youth and females is much more difficult than those of others," Lee said.
"A household thrives and a nation grows only when the young people, who will lead
the country in the future, and willing female workers can find jobs," he said.
The high youth unemployment rate can be partly blamed on the ongoing global
economic crisis but is also attributable to the tendency of young job seekers to
pursue only comfortable and high-paying jobs, he said.
"Though the number of unemployed college graduates continues to soar, our small-
and medium-sized businesses are complaining of a shortage of over 200,000
workers," he said.
People must start looking at other possibilities beyond just large conglomerates,
he said, stressing that challenges employees face in various work environments
could bring new, better opportunities.
"I am truly convinced that a person cannot get a chance to succeed if he or she
does not face challenges out of fear of a possible failure," he said.
"Creating jobs is the first and foremost goal of the government. I and the
government will continue to make all our efforts to create jobs," Lee added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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