Lee Ae-ri, a 30-year-old office worker in the service industry, decided recently to put her wedding plans on hold out of concern she may not be able to afford a happy life due to her “unrewarding” job.
“Initially, I had plans to marry young, but I changed my mind because my job does not guarantee retirement security and it is not a highly paid, specialized one,” she said.
“Considering that, the best option was to put aside the plan.” She added: “It is not only my concern. Many people I know think the same.”
Like Lee, many millennials are choosing to avoid marriage and pregnancy because of the nation’s hyper-competitive job market, according to a specialist group under the Presidential Committee on the Ageing Society and Population Policy, Thursday.
The group found marriage is one of the key factors to contribute to the birthrate and employment is the most important precondition for marriage. However, the current high unemployment among young adults prevents them from starting a family.
“More millennials are leaning toward no marriage and no children due to problems getting a job,” said the specialist group, comprised of professors and researchers from state-run institutions.
Their finding is backed up by recent government figures.
The nation’s unemployment rate of people aged between 20 and 29 was 7.4 percent in 2008, which grew to 8.7 percent in 2011, 10.2 percent in 2014 and 11.3 percent in 2017.
The sub-unit of the presidential committee also found that a bigger problem was young adults cannot find “decent” jobs which help develop their careers and give them an above-average salary.
Currently, many young adults start their careers in an irregular job that does not contributes to career development and also pays them very little.
“Even though millennials find temporary jobs, their low income level cannot pave the way for them to get married and have children,” the group said.
As a result, late employment, followed by marriage and childbirth at a late age, is negatively affecting the nation’s already low birthrate.
The average age of first-time mothers increased from 26.7 in 1996 to 31.4 in 2016.
In order to overcome the declining birthrate, the specialist group advised the government to expand social welfare programs such as improving employment and housing conditions and easing the burden of raising children.
Plus, it said the government is required to make efforts directed toward gender equality.
According to Statistics Korea, around 27,300 babies were born in August, down 9.3 percent from 30,100 a year earlier. The number of newborns in the first eight months of the year dropped 8.7 percent year-on-year to 226,000.
The number of childbirths per month has decreased every month since December 2015.
/o:p>