Number of full-time housewives falls, more elderly women join workforce

SEOUL, March 21 (Yonhap) -- The number of full-time housewives is on the decline, notably as women in their 50s and 60s join the workforce to help with household income, state statistics showed Monday. A breakdown of the country's economically active population by Statistics Korea put the number of full-time housewives last year at 7.08 million, down 0.8 percent from the previous year. It marked the second consecutive year of decline, following a 2.1-percent drop in 2014. According to the statistics agency, the number appears to be falling again this year, with the tally for the January-February period showing a 1.2-percent decline. The trend is new, considering that the number of stay-home married women has been increasing every year from 2000 when related recordkeeping began. The increase had continued even as young women were starting to have careers of their own from 2000. For instance, in the age group of 25 to 54, the percentage of economically active married women rose from under 50 in 1990 to 59.6 percent in 2015. The cycle was broken only in 2014, with marked changes among elderly housewives. The number of households where both husband and wife work increased 2.6 percent last year from the year prior. This compares with a 6.7-percent rise for couples in their 60s, the largest hike of all age groups, and a 4.7-percent hike for those in their 50s. Contrarily, the number for couples in their 30s fell 0.4 percent. Experts say part of the phenomenon of older women working has to do with demographic shifts as the society ages, but it also has to do with the elderly having to work to sustain livelihood. "The rising trend of home prices has been broken and interest rates have fallen, dragging down the value of assets," Lee Geun-tae, senior researcher with LG Economic Research Institute, said. "On the other hand, life expectancy is getting longer. The baby boomer generation has no choice but to work." According to government analysis, South Koreans lived an average of 82 years in 2013, 23 years longer than in 1970. "Flexible work hours, subsidized daycare services and maternity leave policies have contributed to more women getting jobs," said Chung Seong-mi of the Korea Labor Institute. "As people delay getting married and remain reluctant about having children, the number of full-time housewives is set to keep falling," she said. (END)