Examining the Increase in Employment Numbers Closely... Elderly and Young Workers Concentrated in Less Preferred Jobs

Temporary Jobs Common Among Young Women in Food and Accommodation Industry
Older Workers Unable to Find Jobs Displaced in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] In the first half of this year, employment among young and elderly populations increased significantly, with the number of employed persons rising by 941,000 compared to the same month last year. However, among young women, a substantial portion of this increase was due to temporary jobs in the food and accommodation industry, while the elderly were concentrated in occupations that younger people tend to avoid, such as production and field work in small-scale businesses.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 6th, examining the economic activity participation rate by age group shows that the recent rise in participation rates was mainly driven by the young and elderly populations. Despite a decrease in population, the participation rate among the youth rose sharply, leading to an increasing trend in the economically active population. In June this year, the youth population decreased by 4.7% compared to before the spread of the infectious disease, but the participation rate increased by 1.9 percentage points, resulting in only a 1.0% decrease in the economically active population.

For the elderly, both the population and participation rate increased, causing a steep rise in the economically active population. The participation rate for the elderly in June rose by 1.5 percentage points compared to January 2020, and the economically active population increased by 16.6% compared to before the infectious disease spread, showing a distinct pattern from other age groups. Conversely, the core age group of 30 to 59 years saw only a 0.2 percentage point increase in participation rate in June compared to January 2020, indicating a slower recovery compared to other age groups.

From the labor demand perspective, the number of job openings in the first half of this year increased by 26.8% compared to the same period last year, showing a significant expansion. This was largely influenced by increased labor demand in travel-related jobs, cleaning, disinfection, housekeeping services, and security positions due to the expansion of face-to-face activities. In particular, among temporary jobs in the food and accommodation industry, 25.1% of the increase in employment among young women in the first half of this year (compared to the same month last year) was attributed to the rise in temporary jobs in this sector. However, although the proportion of young women among temporary workers in the food and accommodation industry rose from 44.4% in June last year to 47.9% this June, 52.7% of them worked in small businesses with fewer than five employees, and their average weekly working hours were short at 19.1 hours, indicating weak job quality.

For the elderly, employment increased mainly in production and field jobs in manufacturing, construction, cleaning, security, and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors within small businesses with fewer than 30 employees. The share of production and field jobs and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries among the increase in elderly employment rose significantly from 36.6% in 2020 to 61.3% in the first half of this year. Despite rising labor demand in production and field jobs in small businesses, employment growth was observed only among the elderly, which is interpreted as being influenced by younger age groups avoiding production and field jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Song Sang-yoon, head of the Employment Analysis Team at the Bank of Korea's Research Department, explained, "The number of vacant jobs in manufacturing, construction, and business facility management industries with fewer than 30 employees increased significantly from 27,000 in 2020 to 63,000 in May this year, indicating expanding labor demand." He added, "However, the increase in employment in production and field jobs in businesses with fewer than 30 employees appeared only among the elderly, which is the result of a complex phenomenon where other age groups avoid production and field jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises." Employment among young people in production and field jobs in businesses with fewer than 30 employees remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Song also noted, "Looking at employment by occupational status, a significant portion (78.3%) of the increase in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries employment was among self-employed individuals without employees." He added, "While this phenomenon is partly influenced by an increase in returning farming households, it also suggests the possibility that elderly people who could not find jobs are being pushed into agriculture, forestry, and fisheries occupations."

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