Dual-Income Households See Largest Increase... Up by 20,000 Households from Last Year

Proportion of Dual-Income Households in the Second Half of Last Year Hits Record High Since 2015
46.1% of All Households Are Dual-Income
Increase in Female Employment as Society Recovers from COVID-19

The proportion of dual-income households in the second half of last year showed the largest increase since related statistics began in 2015. This was due to the recovery of the employment market and an increase in the number of employed people as the pandemic subsided.

According to the "2022 Second Half Regional Employment Survey - Dual-Income Households and Single-Person Household Employment Status" released by Statistics Korea on the 20th, among married households (12.691 million households) as of October last year, dual-income households numbered 5.846 million, an increase of 20,000 households compared to the previous year (5.826 million households). This is the largest increase since related statistics began in 2015.

The proportion of dual-income households among married households also recorded an all-time high since the statistics began in 2015. The share of dual-income households was 46.1%, up 0.2 percentage points from 45.9% the previous year. Lim Kyung-eun, director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, analyzed, "As the pandemic phase ended and daily life recovery began in earnest, the number of employed people increased significantly, especially in health, food, and accommodation sectors," adding, "In particular, the increase in female employment raised the proportion of dual-income households."

By age of household head, the proportion of dual-income households was highest among those in their 40s and 50s, both at 55.2%. The proportion of dual-income households increased across all age groups compared to the previous year. By education level, the proportion of dual-income households was highest among those with a college degree or higher (50.4%), followed by high school graduates (44.9%). The average weekly working hours for dual-income households were 40.2 hours for men and 34.9 hours for women, decreasing by 1 hour and 1 hour 10 minutes respectively compared to the previous year.

The number of single-person employed households also slightly increased. Single-person employed households numbered 4.555 million, an increase of 204,000 households compared to the previous year. The employment rate among single-person households also rose by 1.3 percentage points to 63.1%. The employment rate by gender increased by 1.0 percentage point to 70.6% for men and by 1.5 percentage points to 55.5% for women, with a larger increase in female employment. Director Lim explained, "The number of single-person households of women in their 30s is increasing, and their employment status is improving."

By wage level, more than half (58.9%) of single-person employed households earned less than 3 million KRW. This figure is based on households engaged in wage labor among single-person employed households. The wage brackets of 2 to 3 million KRW (35.3%) and 3 to 4 million KRW (23.7%) were the most common. The proportions of those earning over 4 million KRW (up 3.3 percentage points) and those earning 3 to 4 million KRW (up 3.1 percentage points) increased compared to the previous year. By age, the employment rate among single-person households was highest for those aged 30-39 (88.0%) and 40-49 (82.4%). By occupation, the highest employment rates were among professionals and related workers (23.9%) and office workers (16.5%).

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