Senior citizens take up record share of job posts this year: data

The proportion of job positions taken by senior citizens reached an all-time high this year amid rapid aging, data showed Monday.

The average number of the employed per month stood at 28.51 million during the January-July period, and those aged 60 and older accounted for 22.4 percent, or 6.39 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

This year’s figure was the largest ever, and the proportion also was a record high.

Based on the seven-month data, the rate of working senior citizens has been on a constant rise in recent years, from 16.9 percent in 2019 to 19.5 percent in 2021 and further to 21.6 percent last year.

The proportion came to a mere 5.4 percent 40 years ago.

The number of senior citizens who started their own businesses has also been rising, the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups showed.

During the January-May period, 64,680 businesses, excluding real estate agencies, or 13.6 percent of the total, were established by those aged 60 and older.

It marked the largest proportion ever, with the previous record being last year’s 12.2 percent.

The growing employment among the elderly came as South Korea is experiencing population aging.

As of July, the population of those aged 60 and older came to 14.24 million, or 27.8 percent of the country’s total of 51.27 million, government data showed.