Working Women Hits an All-time High [04-02-2012]
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance기획재정부 and Statistics Korea통계청, the number of female workers went up 1.8 percent compared to 2010’s figure. There was a total of about 10 million female workers at the end of last year. Reports show that the female population and the number of those seeking jobs to support their families are growing.

More and more females are joining the workforce. That number has continued to rise since it passed the 5 million mark in 1978. The number rose to 7 million in 1989, 8 million in 1994, and 9 million in 2002. Experts say that a major factor behind the increase of female workers is the growing female population. The number of women older than 15 has expanded by more than two million in the past 10 years. Data shows that there are about 20.98 million women in Korea. The growing numbers may also be due to the increase of women who want to work to help their financially-struggling families in areas where the cost of living is becoming too expensive.

Specifically, women who were in their 50s started working more than ever. This age group of females grew 6.8 percent in one year. In other words, about 2.05 million out of the 10 million were in their 50s. Those in their 60s also had an increase in their working population. The figure rose about five percent, which works out to be 1.19 million female workers. Senior citizens who work are either also working to support their families or are preparing for retirement.