Among one-person households, the share of those employed was shown to have declined last year for the first time in five years. Because the drop was larger among people in their 20s and 30s, some interpret this as a snapshot of youth employment woes.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) stated accordingly on the 18th in its "Second-half 2025 regional employment survey: dual-income households and employment status of one-person households."

A view of a studio apartment district. /Courtesy of News1

Last year, the number of one-person households was 8,215,000, up 212,000 from a year earlier. Among them, the number of employed households was 5,198,000, an increase of 98,000. However, their share fell 0.4 percentage point (p) from 63.7% the year before last to 63.3% last year. It was the first decline in the share of employed one-person households in five years since 2020 (60.7→60%).

The decline in employed one-person households was largest among young people. The shares of employed one-person households among those ages 15–29 and 30–39 were 65.5% and 87%, down 0.7 percentage point and 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier, respectively. By contrast, among those 60 and older, the share rose 0.3 percentage point to 40.5%, the only increase across all age groups.

A Ministry official said, "As youth employment conditions are difficult, it appears that a similar pattern is being observed among one-person households as well."

Status of single-worker households in 2025. /Courtesy of Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS)

However, their wage levels improved overall. For the first time, the share of people in employed one-person households earning at least 3 million won per month surpassed 50%. By wage level, the shares were ▲400 million won or more (23.6%) ▲3 million–4 million won (26.4%) ▲2 million–3 million won (29.5%) ▲1 million–2 million won (9.2%) ▲under 1 million won (11.3%).

By region, Busan (53.6%) and Daegu (54.2%) had the lowest shares of employed one-person households. Jeju (72.3%) and Sejong (72%) were the highest.

Status of dual-income households in 2025. /Courtesy of Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS)

Meanwhile, the number of dual-income households was tallied at 6,153,000 last year, accounting for 48.6% of all households with spouses (12,650,000 households). Both the number and share of dual-income households hit an "all-time high." Among dual-income households with children under 18, the share was 60.4%, also an all-time high.

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