Elderly Workers Exceed 9 Million

The number of working seniors has exceeded 9 million for the first time as more and more older people join or stay in the workforce every year. The proportion of economically active seniors has also surpassed 60 percent for the first time.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of elderly workers aged 55 to 79 stood at 9.12 million in May, up 349,000 on-year. The proportion of economically active seniors reached 60.2 percent, and the elderly employment rate 58.9 percent, both up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier and the highest since records began in 2005. 

Some 10.6 million or a whopping 68.5 percent of Korea's 15.48 million elderly people expressed desire to keep working, a survey suggests. Asked why they want to work, 55.8 percent said they have to make ends meet, followed by 35.6 percent who enjoy working. On average they want to work until they are 73 years old. 

A Statistics Korea official said, "The percentage of seniors who enjoy working was the highest since 2015 as more seniors want to stay active as long as they are healthy."