SEOULJungleJackpotJingle, July 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korean graduates spent almost one year to get their first job, fueling worry about the worsening labor market conditions for youths, statistical office data showed Tuesday.

Those aged 15 to 29 spent 11.5 months on average to get their first wage job after graduation in May, up 1.1 months from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

It marked the longest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2006, indicating a worsening situation for youth employment.

Of the total, 47.7 percent spent shorter than three months to get their first job, while 30 percent spent longer than one year.

The number of young employees diminished 173,000 from a year earlier to 3,832,000 in May, while their employment rate slipped 0.7 percentage points to 46.9 percent.

The number of unemployed youths grew 28,000 to 276,000 in the cited period, and their jobless rate increased 0.9 percentage points to 6.7 percent.

About 66.8 percent of young employees left their first wage job after working at the job for an average of one year and 2.8 months.

Among those who quitted their first job, 45.5 percent cited unsatisfactory working conditions, such as long working hours and low pay, as the reason for leaving the job.

It was followed by 15.6 percent picking the expiration of contract for temporary works and 15.3 percent citing their personal reasons such as marriage, childcare and health.■