"Honey, Let's Earn Together" Hits Record High... Continuing to Work Even After Giving Birth

[Anchor]

Joining us for Friday's Friendly Economy is reporter Han Jiyeon. Reporter Han, what is our topic today (June 19)?

[Reporter]

It is about dual-income households.

As of the second half of last year, the number of dual-income households increased by 67,000 in a year, reaching 6.153 million households.

This is a record high.

Looking at the proportion, 48.6% of married households are dual-income, which is also the highest level ever.

Almost half, meaning one in two households, are now dual-income.

The proportion of dual-income households has been steadily rising even after the pandemic.

It is analyzed that the number of couples engaging in economic activities together is increasing due to the growing burden of living expenses and the rising employment rate of women.

In fact, the female employment rate reached a record high last year.

By age group, the proportion of dual-income households was high in their 30s at 63% and 40s at 61%.

On the other hand, those aged 60 and older had the lowest proportion among all age groups at 32%, but the interesting part is that the scale of increase is the exact opposite.

The number of dual-income households aged 60 and older increased by 67,000 in one year.

This figure matches the total increase in dual-income households last year that I mentioned earlier.

In contrast, dual-income households in their 50s decreased by 10,000, making them the only age group to see a decline.

[Anchor]

This is also an extension of what you just said, right?

[Reporter]

Yes, that is correct. The proportion of dual-income households among married couples with children under the age of 18 exceeded 60%.

In terms of numbers, it reaches 2.287 million households.

A rate of 60% means that in six out of ten homes with children, both parents are working.

This is also the first time the figure has surpassed 60%.

In particular, the younger the child, the larger the increase in dual-income households.

In households where the youngest child is aged 6 or younger, the proportion of dual-income couples rose by 3.3 percentage points in one year.

Compared to the 1.4 percentage point increase for the 7 to 12 age group and the 0.4 percentage point increase for the 13 to 17 age group, the increase was overwhelmingly larger in households with infants and toddlers.

In the past, when children were young, mothers often quit their jobs or took a break, right?

But now, it means that more and more people are continuing to work even after giving birth and even when their children are young.

Analysis suggests that with the recent expansion of parental leave and flexible working systems, more people are continuing to work after childbirth.

Let's also look at working hours.

The average weekly working hours for dual-income households was 38.4 hours, down 0.4 hours from the previous year.

It was 40.9 hours for men and 35.9 hours for women.

Both decreased slightly compared to the previous year, showing a trend of slightly shorter working hours.

[Anchor]

Lastly, it's about single-person households.

[Reporter]

While the number of single-person households and the number of working single-person households both increased, the proportion of employed individuals among single-person households actually showed a slight decrease.

Single-person households reached 8.215 million last year, up 212,000 from the previous year.

Among them, the number of working single-person households also exceeded 5.19 million, the highest ever.

However, the growth rate of single-person households was faster than the growth rate of employed households.

As a result, the proportion of employed individuals among single-person households stood at just over 63%, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

In particular, the decline was significant among the youth.

The employment rate of single-person households aged 15 to 29 fell by the largest margin among all age groups.

It is analyzed that the prolonged youth employment difficulties have also affected the employment indicators of single-person households.

Looking at it by gender,

while the employment rate for men fell by 1.2 percentage points, the employment rate for women rose by 0.2 percentage points.

This means that the economic activity of women living alone is actually increasing.

In terms of income levels, the most common bracket was in the 2 million won range per month, but more than 20% of the total fell short of the minimum wage level.

Based on last year's minimum wage, the monthly salary was in the 2.15 million won range, and more than one-fifth of all single-person households earned less than this.

Working hours also decreased.

The weekly average was 37.7 hours, down 0.5 hours from the previous year.

Although the number of single-person households continues to grow, the situation remains challenging in terms of income and employment quality.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.