As the aging trend intensifies, the proportion of employment among the elderly is continually increasing. About 1 in 3 seniors aged 65 and over are employed, while employment among the youth is showing a downward trend.
According to the '2023 Administrative Statistics by Life Stage' released by Statistics Korea, as of October last year, the registered employed population was recorded as 8,293,000 for the youth (aged 15-39), 13,649,000 for the middle-aged (aged 40-64), and 3,122,000 for the elderly (aged 65 and over). The number of employed seniors increased by 255,000 compared to the previous year, while the employed youth and middle-aged population decreased by 190,000 and 78,000, respectively.
The employment rate among the elderly rose from 31.7% to 32.9%, showing a faster increase in employed individuals compared to the overall population. In contrast, the employment rate for the youth slightly decreased from 56.9% to 56.7%, and for the middle-aged from 67.9% to 67.6%. Notably, the percentage of non-wage workers, including self-employed individuals, was highest among those in their late 60s at 26.3%.
Looking at income statistics by age group, the middle-aged recorded an average annual income (labor + business) of 42.59 million won, the highest figure. This represents an increase of 1.75 million won (4.3%) from the previous year. Among them, individuals in their late 40s (47.86 million won) and early 50s (46.68 million won) had the highest incomes. The youth saw an increase from 27.81 million won to 29.50 million won, a 1.69 million won (6.1%) rise, while the elderly saw an increase from 17.71 million won to 18.46 million won, a 750,000 won (4.3%) rise.
Along with the increase in income, loans also varied by age group. The median outstanding loan balance for the middle-aged in financial institutions was 60.34 million won, significantly surpassing that of the youth (37.12 million won) and the elderly (33.14 million won). This seems closely related to the holding of dwellings. The middle-aged dwelling owners numbered 9.06 million, accounting for 44.9% of the total middle-aged population, while the dwelling ownership rate among the youth was only 11.5% (1,684,000 individuals), down 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
By household type, 1-2 person households are widespread among the youth and elderly, with the youth having a 1-person household rate of 56.9% and a 2-person household rate of 19.2%, making up 76.1% of the total. Among the elderly, 1-person households accounted for 37.8%, and 2-person households 43.5%, with 1-2 person households reaching 81.3%. In the middle-aged group, households were evenly distributed among 1-person (25.1%), 2-person (25.6%), 3-person (24.0%), and households of 4 or more (25.3%).
The annual medical expenses per person for the elderly amounted to 5.245 million won, which is 2.6 times that of the middle-aged (2.037 million won). The medical expense for the youth was 1.02 million won. Among major diseases, 'gingivitis and periodontal diseases' were most prevalent in the elderly, while 'senile cataracts' were predominant for inpatient treatment.
In mortality statistics, 'intentional self-harm' (suicide) accounted for 45.4% in the youth, the highest proportion. In the middle-aged and elderly, malignant neoplasms (cancer) were the leading cause of death at 34.4% and 22.5%, respectively.