"Regular Employees and Large Corporation Workers Have Higher Marriage and Birth Rates"

Korea Economic Research Institute, Comparative Analysis Report on Marriage and Birth Rates by Worker Characteristics
Labor Market Reform Needed to Alleviate Dual Labor Structure to Solve Low Birthrate Problem

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Both marriage and birth rates are higher among regular workers and employees of large corporations compared to non-regular workers and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It has been pointed out that to overcome low birth rates, labor market reforms are needed to alleviate the dual structure of the labor market.

On the 3rd, the Korea Economic Research Institute announced in its study "Comparative Analysis of Marriage and Birth Rates by Worker Characteristics," which analyzed individuals aged 15 to 49, that assuming personal characteristics such as gender, age, education level, residential area, and industry sector are all constant, it was estimated that 3.06 out of 100 non-regular workers get married annually. In contrast, 5.06 out of 100 regular workers get married, indicating that the probability of marriage for regular workers is 1.65 times higher than that of non-regular workers.

Furthermore, comparing the marriage probabilities of employees in large corporations and SMEs, it was estimated that 4.23 out of 100 SME employees get married annually, while 6.05 out of 100 large corporation employees do so. The marriage probability of large corporation employees was 1.43 times that of SME employees, showing a gap in marriage rates between large corporation and SME workers.

Not only in marriage rates but also in birth rates, gaps appeared between regular and non-regular workers, as well as between employees of large corporations and SMEs. The birth probability of regular workers was about 1.89 times that of non-regular workers, and the birth probability of large corporation employees was 1.37 times higher than that of SME employees. However, when analyzing the case of second births among those who had their first child, no difference in birth rates according to worker characteristics was found.

The Korea Economic Research Institute argued that since gaps in marriage and birth rates occur according to worker characteristics, solving the low birth rate problem requires not only policies encouraging childbirth but also labor reforms to resolve the dual structure of the labor market and create quality jobs. To alleviate the dual structure between regular and non-regular workers, it explained that easing employment protections such as dismissal regulations for regular workers is necessary to increase companies' incentives to hire regular employees.

Yoo Jin-sung, senior research fellow at the Korea Economic Research Institute, said, “The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also recommends in its Korea Economic Report that easing employment protection for regular workers is necessary to resolve the dual structure of the labor market.” He added, “While policy responses to encourage childbirth itself are important to overcome low birth rates, it cannot be denied that in Korea, marriage is a prerequisite for childbirth compared to other countries,” and “there is a need to pay attention to policy responses to increase marriage rates and to prepare comprehensive and systematic policies to raise marriage rates.”

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