Job Hunt at 60: South Korea Sees Surge in Older Job Seekers

The proportion of job seekers in their 60s and above in South Korea is steadily increasing.

According to Worknet, a job information site operated by the government on the 15th, the total number of new job postings was 4,776,288, of which 959,602 (20.1%) were for those aged 60 and above.

This means that one in five job seekers is over 60. The proportion of job seekers over 60 has shown an increasing trend since 2013, from 12.1% to 14.1% in 2015, 17.1% in 2017, 17.5% in 2019, 17.7% in 2021, and 19.0% in 2022.

In 2013, the proportion of job seekers over 60 was the lowest, following those under 29 (27.0%), in their 30s (23.9%), 40s (18.8%), and 50s (18.3%). However, those over 60 were the second most numerous after those in their 20s (24.0%) last year.

When viewed on a monthly basis, there are times when job seekers in their 60s surpass those in their 20s. In January of this year, the number of new job postings for those aged 60 and above was 139,000 (27.4% of the total job postings), surpassing the 116,000 (22.7%) for those under 29.

The increase in job seekers over 60 correlates with the population and working elderly due to aging. Furthermore, this social phenomenon is analyzed as the elderly work as temporary or contract workers and seek jobs more frequently.

Cheon Kyung Ki, head of the Future Employment Analysis Division at the Ministry of Employment, explained, “There is the influence of the population structure, and while the younger generation tends to stay at a job for a relatively long time once they get a job, those over 60 tend to contract for a short-term.”