One in Five Married Women Experience Career Breaks... Half Are in Their 30s

Statistics Korea 'Employment Status of Married Women in the First Half of 2021'

1.448 Million Women with Career Interruptions...655,000 in Their 30s

Average Weekly Working Hours for Children Under 6: 33.5 Hours

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] This year, one in five married women was found to be in a state of career interruption. Half of them were in their 30s, and the average weekly working hours of married women with children aged 6 or younger was only 33.5 hours, less than the statutory weekly working hours of 40 hours.

According to the "Employment Status of Married Women by Region in the First Half of 2021" released by Statistics Korea on the 23rd, as of last April, the number of married women aged 15-54 who experienced career interruption was 1,448,000, a decrease of 57,000 (3.9%) compared to the same month last year. These women left their jobs due to marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, childcare, children's education, and family care.

The proportion of career-interrupted women among the total 8,323,000 married women aged 15-54 was 17.4%, down 0.2 percentage points (p) from the previous year, but still about one in five. Among the 3.24 million non-employed married women aged 15-54, the proportion of career-interrupted women reached 44.7%.

Notably, many women in their prime working age, in their 30s, experienced career interruption due to childcare. By age group, those aged 30-39 numbered 655,000, accounting for 45.2% of the total. This was followed by 40-49 years old with 579,000 (40.0%), 50-54 years old with 138,000 (9.6%), and 15-29 years old with 75,000 (5.2%).

The reasons for all career-interrupted women leaving their jobs were childcare (43.2%), marriage (27.4%), and pregnancy and childbirth (22.1%) in that order. However, for those aged 30-39, the order was childcare (47.6%), pregnancy and childbirth (25.4%), and marriage (24.1%). This indicates that childcare and pregnancy/childbirth burdens had a significant impact on career interruption among married women in their 30s.

Furthermore, the younger the age of the children, the shorter the average weekly working hours. Married women with children aged 6 or younger worked an average of 33.5 hours per week, shorter than those with children aged 7-12 at 36.8 hours and 13-17 at 37.9 hours. This did not even reach the statutory working hours of 40 hours.

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