The share of people whose income rose over the year and moved up an income tier (quintile) hit an all-time low. Still, the figure was higher than the share who moved down. The rate of escaping the bottom 20% first quintile fell by 1 percentage point from a year earlier.
The National Data Office on the 27th released the Results of 2023 Income Mobility Statistics. The statistics count only earned income and business income, excluding rental and pension income. The population covered is 66.2% of those age 15 or older who had income in both 2022 and 2023 (28.3 million people).
According to the statistics, income mobility in 2023 was 34.1%. Income mobility is the share of people whose income quintile rose or fell compared with the previous year: upward mobility was 17.3% and downward mobility was 16.8%. The upward mobility rate was the lowest since the statistics began in 2018. Downward mobility was also the lowest in 2023. Compared with the previous year, overall income mobility fell by 0.8 percentage point, with downward mobility (-0.5 percentage point) decreasing more than upward mobility (-0.3 percentage point).
Choi Baul, head of the Economic and Social Statistics Research Bureau at the National Data Office, said, "Income mobility tends to rise when the share of young people increases or when economic conditions improve, because mobility is active among the young," adding, "The fact that both upward and downward mobility are the lowest on record is due to ongoing aging and a low-growth trend."
Income mobility was higher for women (35.2%) than for men (33.3%). Year over year, the first-quintile escape rate was 32.7% for men and 28.1% for women. The decline in the escape rate from a year earlier was larger for men (-1.8 percentage points) than for women (-0.4 percentage point). The first-quintile entry rate was 5.8% for men and 9.8% for women. The decline in the entry rate was also larger for women (-0.5 percentage point) than for men (-0.1 percentage point).
By age, income mobility was highest among the young (40.4%), followed by middle-aged (31.5%) and older adults (25.0%). The first-quintile escape rate for the young (ages 15–39) was 38.4%, the highest among all age groups. Conversely, the entry rate, the share becoming first quintile, was highest among those 65 and older (12.9%).
Looking at the entire statistical population, the share who escaped the first quintile was 29.9%, down 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier. That means 7 in 10 remained in the first quintile in both 2022 and 2023. The rate of escaping the first quintile declined the longer one stayed in the first quintile.
Deputy Minister Choi said, "Continuously being in the first quintile is interpreted as facing immediate financial difficulties rather than investing time to enter a stable labor market." Upward mobility by other quintiles was 28.1% for the second quintile, 18.1% for the third, and 10.5% for the fourth. Downward mobility was 26.0% for the third quintile, 23.5% for the fourth, 20.5% for the second, and 14.1% for the fifth.
Of those in the first income quintile in 2017, 27.8% were still in the first quintile in 2023. Over the same period, 59.3% remained in the fifth quintile. The share continuously staying in the first income quintile was higher for women (31.2%) than for men (23.0%). By age group, the rates were higher in the order of older adults (79.4%), middle-aged (35.8%), and the young (12.0%).