By Choi Sung-jin
Four out of every 10 people employed last year were in their 50s or older, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday in a report.
This is because the continually increasing participation in the labor market by elderly citizens has pushed related figures _ such as the economically active population, the number of employed and the employment rate _ to record high levels.
As the baby-boomer generation _ people born between 1955 and 1963 here _ retire and seek reemployment in earnest, Korean society needs to provide decent jobs to absorb this relatively high-quality manpower compared with older generations, officials say.
According to the ministry report, the number of employees aged 50 or older stood at about 9.65 million last year, 37.2 percent of the total 25.93 million. Fifty-something workers accounted for 23.1 percent of the total and those in their 60s or more, the other 14.1 percent. The employment rate of 50s or older was 55.3 percent and the number of elderly employees increased by 320,000.
The employment rate of young and middle-aged people in Korea was lower than the average of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member nations but that of elderly people was third highest in the club of relatively rich countries, following Iceland (71.9 percent) and Norway (57.1 percent).
"The number of elderly people wanting to take part in labor market is expected to increase as the number of aged people continues to grow and life expectancy extends while retirement age gets lower and old age preparations remain insufficient," the report says.
Korea's life expectancy stood at 82.4 years as of 2014, up 4.4 years from a decade before, but 67.3 percent of people aged 65-79 received less than 250,000 won ($220) in public pensions a month. Koreans retire from their long-serving jobs at 49 on average but the age they leave the job market permanently is 72.9 years for men and at 70.6 for women.
Particularly, the Korean baby boomers, who account for 39.1 percent of the elderly generation, are positive about the job market. The economic participation rate of this generation and that of women in particular, is higher than those of previous generations. Unlike the 60s or older people who graduated from middle school and engage in simple labor or farming and fishing, most baby boomers graduated from high school or college and work in manufacturing, construction, educational and financial service jobs.
"The baby-boom generation is highly educated and skilled and is active in job market participation, and so the government needs to develop a policy that can make the most of their skills and experiences in reemployment," a ministry official said.
The demand for such a policy will likely grow bigger when the "second-generation baby boomers _ people born between 1964-1974 who number even more than first-generation baby boomers and are more highly educated than the latter _ poured into the job market, he added.
But the reality could hardly be further from the demands of baby boomers.
Only 40.9 percent of reemployed workers have regular jobs, with the other 59.9 percent engaging in temporary daily jobs. Many were doing simple labor or operating machines, at hourly wage of about 16,000 won on average.
This year, the employment of elderly workers has slowed. The employment rate of 50s turned downward and that of the 60s is also growing more slowly.
The ministry attributed the setback in the reemployment of elderly workers to the growing gap between their demands and the level of jobs they can actually find.
Four out of every 10 people employed last year were in their 50s or older, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday in a report.
This is because the continually increasing participation in the labor market by elderly citizens has pushed related figures _ such as the economically active population, the number of employed and the employment rate _ to record high levels.
As the baby-boomer generation _ people born between 1955 and 1963 here _ retire and seek reemployment in earnest, Korean society needs to provide decent jobs to absorb this relatively high-quality manpower compared with older generations, officials say.
According to the ministry report, the number of employees aged 50 or older stood at about 9.65 million last year, 37.2 percent of the total 25.93 million. Fifty-something workers accounted for 23.1 percent of the total and those in their 60s or more, the other 14.1 percent. The employment rate of 50s or older was 55.3 percent and the number of elderly employees increased by 320,000.
The employment rate of young and middle-aged people in Korea was lower than the average of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member nations but that of elderly people was third highest in the club of relatively rich countries, following Iceland (71.9 percent) and Norway (57.1 percent).
"The number of elderly people wanting to take part in labor market is expected to increase as the number of aged people continues to grow and life expectancy extends while retirement age gets lower and old age preparations remain insufficient," the report says.
Korea's life expectancy stood at 82.4 years as of 2014, up 4.4 years from a decade before, but 67.3 percent of people aged 65-79 received less than 250,000 won ($220) in public pensions a month. Koreans retire from their long-serving jobs at 49 on average but the age they leave the job market permanently is 72.9 years for men and at 70.6 for women.
Particularly, the Korean baby boomers, who account for 39.1 percent of the elderly generation, are positive about the job market. The economic participation rate of this generation and that of women in particular, is higher than those of previous generations. Unlike the 60s or older people who graduated from middle school and engage in simple labor or farming and fishing, most baby boomers graduated from high school or college and work in manufacturing, construction, educational and financial service jobs.
"The baby-boom generation is highly educated and skilled and is active in job market participation, and so the government needs to develop a policy that can make the most of their skills and experiences in reemployment," a ministry official said.
The demand for such a policy will likely grow bigger when the "second-generation baby boomers _ people born between 1964-1974 who number even more than first-generation baby boomers and are more highly educated than the latter _ poured into the job market, he added.
But the reality could hardly be further from the demands of baby boomers.
Only 40.9 percent of reemployed workers have regular jobs, with the other 59.9 percent engaging in temporary daily jobs. Many were doing simple labor or operating machines, at hourly wage of about 16,000 won on average.
This year, the employment of elderly workers has slowed. The employment rate of 50s turned downward and that of the 60s is also growing more slowly.
The ministry attributed the setback in the reemployment of elderly workers to the growing gap between their demands and the level of jobs they can actually find.
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