Business for Working Moms Rising
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Government statistics show that services businesses assisting working moms have grown rapidly during the last few years as more women chose to work instead of being fulltime housewives.
According to data on retail, wholesale and service businesses from 2001 to 2006 released by the National Statistical Office, the services industry recorded 830.4 trillion won in sales last year, up 9 percent from 2005. The sector has seen accelerated growth over the last few years, rising 2.8 percent in 2003, 5.4 percent in 2004 and 11.4 percent in 2005. It has expanded 37.8 percent from five years ago, when total sales in the sector stood at 602.7 trillion won.
The expansion was notable in services providers targeting working moms. Nurseries and daycare centers grew 87 percent during the last five years in terms of total sales. The number of such businesses increased 33.7 percent. Food retail shops, which sell side dishes, also saw 20.5 percent growth, as working moms find it more convenient to buy food than to cook.
The statistics also reflected changes in demographics: Services related to senior citizens are expanding while those focusing on babies are on the decline. Nursing homes for senior citizens recorded 523.1 billion won in total sales last year, more than a four-fold increase from five years ago. Over half of shops selling baby clothes, meanwhile, closed down due to low birthrates. Korea's birthrate stood at 1.13 children per woman of childbearing age in 2006, continuing to fall from 1.3 five years ago. The ratio of senior citizens aged 65 or over in the total population jumped to 9.5 percent from 7.6 percent.
The private education fever has made the cram school industry more than double in the five-year period. Cram schools recorded 4.3 trillion won in sales last year, up 130.7 percent from 1.9 trillion won in 2001. There are over 32,000 such schools, commonly known as ``hagwon,'' across the country. Private language schools posted a triple gain in sales.