Seniors fill record number of vacancies this year

Data on Monday showed that the share of seniors in the workplace has reached a historic high this year amid the rapid aging of the population.

The average number of employed people per month during the January-July period was 28.51 million, and those aged 60 and over accounted for 22.4 percent, or 6.39 million, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

This year's number was the highest ever and the proportion also reached a record high.

Based on seven-month data, the share of employed seniors has steadily increased in recent years, from 16.9 percent in 2019 to 19.5 percent in 2021 and further to 21.6 percent last year.

40 years ago, the proportion was only 5.4 percent.

The number of seniors starting their own businesses is also increasing, according to data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

In the period from January to May, 64,680 businesses (excluding real estate agencies), or 13.6 percent of the total number of people aged 60 and over, were founded.

This is the highest proportion ever; the previous record was 12.2 percent last year.

The increase in employment among older people comes at a time of population aging in Korea.

In July, the population of people aged 60 and over was 14.24 million, or 27.8 percent of the country's 51.27 million people, according to government data. (Yonhap)