Number of working elderly in Korea surpasses 9 million

The old people are walking in their work clothes in Seoul on July 25. [Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

The number of working elderly individuals aged between 55 and 79 in South Korea has surpassed 9 million to reach an all-time high, highlighting the country’s ongoing demographic shift amid a chronically low birthrate and rapid aging.

According to data released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the domestic elderly population stood at 15,481,000 as of May this year, up by 384,000 from a year earlier. The older adult population continued to grow, surpassing 15 million for the first time last year, up from 13.84 million in 2019. As of May of this year, the senior population was 34.1 percent of then population aged 15 and over.

The number of employed seniors crossed the 9 million mark for the first time this year, up from 7.73 million in 2019, just shy of 8 million. The number of economically active seniors, which includes the unemployed, also increased by 349,000 over the past year, reaching 9.32 million in May. This year, the labor force participation rate (60.2 percent) and employment rate (58.9 percent) among the elderly also reached record highs.

Nearly 70 percent, or 10.6 million of Korean senior citizens said they want to continue to work in the future, up by 254,000 from a year ago, according to a survey conducted by Statistics Korea in May.

By gender, the proportion of elderly men (77.3 percent) who wish to continue working was higher than that of elderly women (60.3 percent).

When it comes to the main reason for hoping to work, 55.8 percent said they want to earn enough for living expenses and 35.6 percent said that they work because they enjoy working.

Among the elderly individuals who currently have jobs, 93 percent expressed their desire to continue working. Moreover, those who want to keep working in the future said that they hope to work until an average age of 73.

As for monthly wage levels, 19.8 percent said they want to earn 2 million to 2.5 million won ($1,600-$2,000), followed by 18.6 percent 1.5 million-2 million won, the survey showed.