1 in 7 Household Heads Jobless

By Yoon Ja-young

Staff Reporter

One out of every seven households has a jobless father.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) reported Monday that life is getting tougher for the working class as job market conditions worsen, consumer prices rise and the burden of interest on loans weighs heavily.

According to the NSO, the proportion of the heads of households without jobs reached 16.1 percent of the total in the third quarter, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous year. It has been rising each year, from 13.61 percent in 2003 when the statistical office started compiling such data.

This means that one out of every seven households cannot expect any income from the household head. They are depending on help from other family members or the government's social safety net.

The employment rate fell to 61.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Other statistics showed a rising Engel's coefficient ― the ratio of expenditure for food products in income ― which recorded 26.7 percent this year, up 0.6 percentage points from 2007.

This is the first rise in four years, and reflects worsening living condition for households. ``As the economic downturn accelerates and consumer sentiment worsens, people seem to be cutting spending, except for such necessities as food,'' the statistical office said.

Monthly income is stagnant at best, or even falling for many people. Inflation-adjusted monthly income averaged 2.4 million won, down 2.7 percent from a year ago.

The high interest rate on loans, which stands at 7.8 percent on average, is also pressuring the household economy. People were spending 9.8 percent of their disposable income on interest payments, up from 9.4 percent last year.

chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr