Over 50s make up 85% of job increases in South Korea

Data from Statistics Korea showed that the share of employed people aged 50 or over reached 85.2% of the total increase – 717,000 out of 841,000.

In particular, there was a hiring surge among women in their 50s (135,000) and men in their 60s and over (321,000). This could mean that the number of non-regular jobs or public agency-offered jobs for retirees has increased sharply.

The increase in the tally for jobs among those in their 40s stayed at about 2,000 and those in their 30s at 18,000 last month. Figures for men in their 40s and 30s declined by 7,000 and 21,000, respectively, though hiring of women in the same age groups has somewhat improved. 

The figure for people in their 20s increased by 117,000 (49,000 for men and 68,000 for women), which could be an indication of market conditions for regular, full-time jobs.

By sector, a 6.8% increase was reported in the health and social welfare services, 6.2% in real estate agencies, 5.6% in agriculture-fisheries, 3.6% in manufacturing, 2.4% in construction and 1.3% in lodging-food services. 

In contrast, there was a decline in financial services-insurance by 7.2% and wholesale-retail businesses by 1.1%.

READ: South Korea trials sickness benefits for workers

Overall, the number of employed people increased by 841,000 in June, compared to the corresponding month of 2021, to 28.47 million. The country’s employment rate also rose from 61.3% to 62.9%, according to The Korea Herald.