The People's Lives Grow Tougher... Rent Increases Relative to Income and Employment Rate Drops Sharply

Ratio of Housing Rent to Monthly Income Rises from 15.5% to 16.1%
Employment Rate Down, Unemployment Rate Up... Employment Market Worsens Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] As housing and employment insecurity continue, the lives of the people are becoming increasingly difficult. While the proportion of housing rent has increased, the employment rate has decreased compared to the previous year.

According to the 'Quality of Life of the People 2020' report released by Statistics Korea on the 11th, the ratio of housing rent to monthly income in 2019 was 16.1%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from 15.5% in 2018. In particular, the proportion of housing rent in the Seoul metropolitan area and metropolitan cities has been steadily increasing since 2016.

The housing rent ratio in the Seoul metropolitan area was recorded at 20.0%, while metropolitan cities and provincial areas were 16.3% and 12.7%, respectively.

The employment rate in 2020 was 60.1%, down 0.8 percentage points from 60.9% in 2019. By gender, it decreased to 69.8% for men and 50.7% for women.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 4.0% from 3.8% in 2019. Since decreasing from 4.4% in 2000, it has fluctuated around 3.5%.

Meanwhile, the proportion of elderly living alone among the population aged 65 and over continues to increase. The rate of elderly living alone in 2020 was 19.6%, marking an all-time high. The number of elderly living alone aged 65 and over increased significantly from 543,787 in 2000 to 1,589,371 in 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.