S. Korea senior citizen employment surges

The number of jobs held by senior citizens in South Korea hit a record high this year due to the country’s rapidly aging population, according to data from Statistics Korea.

Yonhap News Agency reported that during the January-July period, the average monthly employment rate was 28.51 million, with individuals aged 60 and older making up 22.4 per cent, or 6.39 million.

The trend of rising senior citizen employment has been evident in recent years. The rate of working seniors has risen steadily from 16.9 per cent in 2019 to 19.5 per cent in 2021, and further to 21.6 per cent last year. This is a significant increase compared to the 5.4 per cent recorded 40 years ago.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, during the January-May period, 64,680 businesses, excluding real estate agencies, were established by individuals aged 60 and older.

This represents a record-high proportion of 13.6 per cent, surpassing the previous record of 12.2 per cent set last year. The increasing employment among the elderly population coincides with South Korea’s demographic shift.

As of July, the population of those aged 60 and older reached 14.24 million, constituting 27.8 per cent of the country’s total population of 51.27 million.

Attribution: WAM

Subediting: M. S. Salama