Young married people earn more, more likely to own home

Married young people annually earn approximately 8 million won ($5,950) more than their unmarried counterparts, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.

A wedding dress shop located in Ahyeon-dong, Seodaemun District in western Seoul on March 16, 2023. [NEWS1]

Married young people annually earn approximately 8 million won ($5,950) more than their unmarried counterparts, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.

The annual median income of full-time workers was 40 million won for married young adults and 32.2 million won for unmarried young adults. Married young adults also exhibited a higher employment rate, with 73.9 percent holding jobs compared to 72.8 percent of unmarried young adults.

The report was based on data collected from different government agencies in 2022, detailing socioeconomic differences between married and unmarried young people between the ages of 25 and 39.

This age bracket differs from the legal definition of young adults, which, according to the Framework Act on Youth, includes people between the ages of 19 and 34.

According to the Statistics Korea report, 31.7 percent of married young adults were homeowners compared to 10.2 percent for unmarried young adults.

In 2022, the proportion of unmarried young people living with their parents was 50.6 percent, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the previous year.

While more single young adults are willing to live independently than in the past, when unmarried people were expected to live with their parents, the low rate of homeownership in this age bracket suggests that young people are seeking alternative ways of leaving the nest, such as paying monthly rent or signing jeonse lump-sum deposit contracts for their own place.

Among unmarried young adults, 68.5 percent of those living with their parents are employed, compared to 77.2 percent for those living independently.

The annual median income is 29.3 million won for those living with their parents and 35.5 million won for those living independently, while the proportion of homeownership is 6.5 percent for those living with their parents and 14.1 percent for those living independently.

While data shows that higher-income earners are more likely to be married, the report's analysis also showed notable differences between married couples with and without children.

Just 58.5 percent of married young women with children reported being employed, compared to 69.7 percent of those without children. The proportion of married young men with jobs was 91.7 percent for those with children and 89.4 percent for those without children.

The differences in employment between men and women with and without children suggest that childbearing entails more career disruptions for women than men.

The proportion of married young adults with children was 74.7 percent, representing a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from 2021.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]