By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Despite improving overall economic conditions, many households here continue to grapple with financial hardship due to the prolonged sluggish job market and large debts.

In particular, single-member households, mostly senior citizens and unmarried young workers living alone, suffered the steepest drop in earnings in the third quarter.

To cope with the falling income, they cut spending at the sharpest pace in history, exacerbating the country's continued stagnant private consumption, according to Statistics Korea.

The agency said Monday that the average income of single-member households plunged 10 percent during the July to September period from the same period last year, the sharpest fall since the statistical office began compiling data in 2003.

In comparison, two-member families saw their income drop by 1.2 percent in the third quarter from the same three-month period last year, while three-member households made 3.4 percent less over the same period.

Only 17.6 percent of single-member households earned more than they spent, down sharply from 23.3 percent in 2008 and 24.2 percent in 2007, meaning that their living costs went up at a faster pace than their income.

"Besides the government's minimum living allowance, many senior citizens rely on financial support from children and relatives. But with salaried workers and the self-employed being hit hard financially by the economic downturn, the elderly are not able to receive as much money as they used to," a Statistics Korea official said.

He said many young adults living alone have been affected by the tight job market, while many single women normally employed on a temporary basis have been unable to find jobs amid the massive corporate downsizing, which slashed their earnings dramatically.

In line with the shrinking income, one-member households cut spending by 4.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the steepest decline since Statistics Korea began compiling data.

The problem is that these financially unstable single-member households will likely increase at a fast pace, which could further dampen domestic demand and weaken economic vitality.

One-member households accounted for 15.6 percent of the total nationwide in 2000 and surged to 19.9 percent in 2005. The ratio is expected to reach 20.2 percent this year and further go up to 20.7 percent in 2012 and 23.7 percent in 2030.

"With the rapid population aging, rising divorce rate and reluctance to get married among the young, the number of people living alone will head upward in the future. In particular, senior citizens and single women are extremely vulnerable to sudden changes from economic shocks.

The nation should pay more attention to these financially-weak groups and help them maintain the minimum level of living standards," the official said.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr