Manufacturing workers over 60 exceed under 20s for first time

An employee of a metal manufacturer in Seoul's Youngdeungpo District is seen in front of metal products in this photo taken in June 2023. Korea Times file

The number of employees aged 60 or older was higher than those aged from 15 to 20 for the first time in the local manufacturing industry last year, according to data, Sunday.

Released by Statistics Korea, the data adds to heightened concerns over the aging workforce among Korea’s entire labor market as the country struggles with low birthrates and a rapidly dwindling population.

The data showed employees aged 60 or older came to a total of 599,000 in the manufacturing sector in 2023, up by 51,000 from a year earlier.

Over the cited period, the number of manufacturing workers aged from 15 to 20 slid by 33,000 year-on-year to 555,000.

It marks the first time that such young workers were outnumbered by senior peers in manufacturing jobs since 2014 when the collection of of such data started.

“The finding is surprising considering those jobs require physical work and thus younger workers were believed to have more competence,” a source said.

The finding come as senior citizens have been at the center of job growth recently, including in 2023 when the nation’s number of newly added jobs reached the all-time high of 28.41 million.

Of the 28.41 million new jobs, those in their 60s or older accounted for 366,000. The number shows a larger than 59,000 increase for those in their 50s and a 54,000 increase for those in their 30s.

On the other hand , the number of new jobs for those aged from 15 to 29 shrank by 98,000.