National Data Agency reports employment gains among older workers

South Korea's National Data Agency said the number of people aged 55 to 79 in work rose 345,000 to 10.125 million from a year earlier in May, even as total employment fell by 40,000.

Released on Aug. 3, the agency's survey put the population aged 55 to 79 at 17.017 million, up 570,000, while participation and employment rates were unchanged at 60.9 percent and 59.5 percent.

People aged 65 to 79 accounted for 326,000 of the employment increase, whereas the number of 55- to 64-year-olds in work rose only 20,000.

Health, social and welfare services represented 14.8 percent of older workers, followed by manufacturing at 12.0 percent, according to the survey.

Elementary occupations made up 22.3 percent of older employees and service workers 15.3 percent, compared with 2.1 percent for managers and 8.7 percent for sales workers. The shares of professional and related workers, clerks and service workers rose by 0.7, 0.9 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively, from a year earlier.

Among those with work experience, average tenure at their longest-held job was 17 years and 7.1 months, an increase of 0.5 months from a year earlier. Of that group, 30.5 percent were still in their longest-held role at an average age of 62.6, while 69.5 percent had left it at 53.0.

Pension recipients over the previous year represented 52.7 percent, or 8.969 million people, and received 880,000 won a month on average, up 2.1 percent. Meanwhile, 69.2 percent, or 11.782 million people, wanted future work and said they hoped to work until an average age of 73.6.