By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
A growing number of local households are headed by the unemployed with many individuals continue to face difficulties in finding jobs amid the tight labor market.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Wednesday, the proportion of households headed by the jobless stood at 15.6 percent in the third quarter, up from 14.7 percent during the same period last year. It marks the highest proportion since the statistical office began compiling data since 2003.
The number of such families rose 182,000 to 2.56 million from a year earlier, while the country's total households increased to 16.4 million from 16.2 million over the one-year period.
Households headed by the unemployed are defined as ones whose registered representatives do not earn income, instead relying on either the salaries of their spouse, other family members, or government subsidies for their livelihood, the statistical office said.
Such families have 2.7 members on average, while purchasing goods and services worth 1.6 million won per month and paying a monthly average of 241,000 won in taxes, pension and other non-consumption expenses. The age of the household heads averaged 59.8.
``The number of household heads who do not have jobs has continued to increase over the years because the job market has not improved much. Despite strong exports and reviving domestic consumption, many companies remain reluctant to hire workers amid uncertain economic outlook, largely weighed down by surging oil prices and other external negatives,'' said Song Tae-jung, senior economist of LG Economic Research Institute.
The country's employment rate remained unchanged at 60.4 percent last month from a year ago, while the economically inactive population increased 1.7 percent to 14.6 million over the same period.
``Also, the rapid aging of the population and an increase in the number of working women have made more household heads, who are usually men, financially dependent on their wives and children, pushing up the number of unemployed family heads,'' Song said.