3.97 Million Simple Labor Workers Last Month... 6 Out of 10 Are Aged 60 or Older

3.97 Million Simple Labor Workers in April... 476,000 More Than a Year Ago

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Last month, the number of simple labor workers increased by the largest margin since statistics began, and more than half of the increased simple labor workers were elderly aged 60 and over.

According to microdata from the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of Statistics Korea on the 16th, the number of simple labor workers in April reached 3.97 million, an increase of 476,000 compared to a year ago. This is the largest increase since related statistics have been available from January 2013.

A significant portion of the 652,000 increase in employed persons last month were simple labor workers.

In terms of growth rate, the increase rate of simple labor workers (13.6%) was the highest among all occupations.

Breaking down simple labor workers by age, those aged 60 and over numbered 1.689 million, increasing by 275,000 in one year, showing the largest increase and accounting for 57.8% of the total increase across all age groups (476,000) last month. Those in their 50s increased by 82,000, followed by those in their 20s with an increase of 81,000. Others followed in order: 30s (26,000), 15-19 years old (18,000). The number of simple labor workers in their 40s decreased by 6,000.

Experts and related workers increased by only 115,000 (2.1%). In addition, skilled workers and related technicians (88,000, 3.8%), service workers (74,000, 2.5%), and clerical workers (62,000, 1.3%) increased in employment. Sales workers (-120,000, -4.1%), plant and machine operators and assemblers (-33,000, -1.1%), skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers (-5,000, -0.4%), and managers (-5,000, -1.2%) saw a decrease in employment numbers.

Meanwhile, according to the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations applied by Statistics Korea to employment statistics, simple labor refers to simple and routine tasks that can be performed with a few hours or minutes of on-the-job training. Construction site workers, food delivery workers, building cleaners, security guards, and domestic helpers fall under this category.

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