AI Analyzes Job Seekers to Recommend Tailored Employment Policies

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been proposed to analyze job seekers' employment potential and long-term unemployment risks, recommending tailored employment support policies. The plan aims to establish a system that goes beyond merely searching for job information, diagnosing job seekers' characteristics and needs to connect them with appropriate vocational training, employment support programs, and counseling services.

On June 10, the Korea Employment Information Service presented a research report titled "Systematization Plan for Job Seeker Diagnostic Tools for Effective Online and Offline Employment Support." The report suggests creating an integrated diagnostic system that comprehensively analyzes job seekers' employment potential, willingness to work, and barriers to employment, providing customized support.

In 2023, the government launched Employment24, a platform that integrates job services, including WorkNet, employment insurance, and HRD-Net. Job seekers can access a variety of services, including job listings, vocational training, unemployment benefits, and employment support programs, all in one place.

The number of individual members on Employment24 has grown from 9.28 million in October 2024 to 11.19 million in May of the previous year. The platform currently offers tailored training and job information based on member characteristics. However, users often need to search for the policies and services they require, highlighting the need for a more sophisticated recommendation feature.

The Korea Employment Information Service identified that diagnostic tools used in various programs, such as unemployment benefits, the National Employment Support System, and the Job Seeker Leap Package, are operated in a fragmented manner. The differing diagnostic purposes and measurement methods limit the comprehensive understanding of job seekers' characteristics and the connection between services.

To analyze job seekers' characteristics more systematically and link tailored services, the establishment of an integrated diagnostic system is deemed necessary.

The report also emphasizes the need for a data-driven profiling system to identify job seekers at high risk of long-term unemployment early and provide focused support.

Countries like the United States, Australia, and Germany have implemented statistical profiling systems to identify and support job seekers at high risk of long-term unemployment. European countries, particularly Germany, maintain one-on-one counseling-based employment services while efficiently utilizing limited budgets and personnel through a "select and concentrate" strategy based on statistical analysis.

The Korea Employment Information Service stressed the need for South Korea to shift from a simple qualification assessment-based employment service to one that identifies job seekers' characteristics and risk factors based on data, providing appropriate services accordingly.

To achieve this, the report recommends using employment administrative databases and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) to predict employment potential and allocate limited employment service resources efficiently. This approach would involve providing more intensive counseling, vocational training, and job placement services to job seekers at high risk of long-term unemployment, while quickly matching those with relatively higher employment potential to available jobs.

Ultimately, the goal is to establish an "AI-collaborative employment service system" where AI analyzes job seekers' characteristics and risk factors, allowing counselors to design support strategies based on this analysis.

Seohyun Joo, a senior researcher at the Korea Employment Information Service's Career Development Research Division, stated, "We need to build an AI-collaborative employment service system where AI analyzes job seekers' characteristics, and counselors design tailored services based on that analysis."