The phenomenon of 'older adults caring for older adults' has spread, leading to a significant increase in the number of employees in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector in the second half of last year. This is the highest level since statistics for this industry were compiled in 2017. The non-residential welfare facility operation sector includes home care aides, senior center staff, and others. In terms of workforce size, the food service industry remains the top sector, closely followed by the non-residential welfare facility operation sector.
According to the Employment Survey by the Statistics Korea released on the 24th, the number of employees in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector increased by 88,000 in the second half of last year. Facilities included in this sector are senior centers, home care agencies, playrooms, and workplace daycare centers.
A Statistics Korea official noted, 'Since the industry classification has been retrospectively adjusted, the number of employees in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector has increased the most since 2017,' adding that it is due to the demand for elderly care driven by an aging population and the resulting elderly job creation initiatives.
Of the increase, 70,000 were women, and a significant number were aged 50 or older. Consequently, the number of employees in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector reached 1,594,000, which is 5.5% of all employees, closely following the food service industry, which accounts for 5.8% or 1,662,000 employees. While those aged 15-29 and 30-49 primarily found employment in the food service industry, those aged 50 and over were predominantly employed in the non-residential welfare facility operation sector (1,209,000).
Following the non-residential welfare facility operation sector, other industries with significant increases in employment were the headquarters and management consulting services sector (33,000) and storage and warehousing (24,000). Conversely, the construction sector (86,000) and crop farming (60,000) saw declines in employment, impacted by a decrease of 61,000 in simple labor positions related to construction and mining.
Men had the highest number of employees in crop farming (794,000), food service (641,000), and construction (454,000). Women were predominantly employed in non-residential welfare facility operation (1,335,000), food service (1,020,000), and crop farming (612,000).
Wage polarization is worsening. The proportion of employees earning between 3 million to 4 million won, those earning above 4 million won, and those earning below 1 million won has increased by 1.8 percentage points (p), 0.5 p, and 0.4 p, respectively, compared to the previous half-year. The wage distribution of employees shows that those earning between 2 million to 3 million won constituted the largest portion at 31.6%. Those earning above 4 million won accounted for 26.5%, those earning between 3 million to 4 million won for 22.0%, those earning between 1 million to 2 million won for 10.4%, and those earning below 1 million won for 9.6%.
Among those earning between 2 million to 3 million won, the greatest numbers were found in facility management and business support and rental services (47.0%) and real estate (41.6%). Earnings above 4 million won were primarily seen in professional, scientific, and technical services (49.6%) and financial and insurance sectors (49.0%).