Senior job seekers settling for temporary jobs: study

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- The rate of increase in the number of temporary workers has been slowing across age groups except for those in their 60s and older, an outcome linked to the aging society and the need for income after retirement, a study said Thursday. The number of non-permanent job holders had increased by 174,000 on-year in November last year and 113,000 in December, according to the study by the Korea Labor Institute. But the increase stopped at 19,000 in January this year, and in February it fell by 9,000. Temporary workers 60 years of age or older, however, have continued to rise throughout the same period. In September last year the number increased by 104,000. In October it rose by 98,000, and in November and December the number inclined by 113,000 and 138,000, respectively. The trend continued into this year -- an increase of 113,000 in January, 91,000 in February and 117,000 in March. The contrast becomes starker when compared to younger age groups. In February, for example, the number of temporary workers for people in their 40s fell by 39,000. In March, the fall was a bigger 51,000. The study said part of the cause comes from the aging society in South Korea, where the number of people 60 years old or older is increasing by some 400,000 each month compared to the same month of the previous year. Chung Seong-mi, a researcher at the institute, said the need for money after retirement also contributed to the situation. A report from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development said the poverty rate among South Koreans aged 65 or older was 49.6 percent in 2014, compared to 12.6 percent among member states. "People of the post-retirement group have entered the labor market to supplement their income, but, unable to find a permanent position, they settle for temporary work," Chung said. "They are counted as economically non-active population because they are not looking for jobs all the time, but they do work when they find short-term jobs." (END)