The number of employed Koreans aged 55 to 79 has exceeded 10 million for the first time since the government began compiling related statistics.

As labor market participation among older adults consistently expands, about seven in 10 said they hope to keep working into their mid-70s, according to a new survey.

Job seekers browse employment listings at the Seoul Western Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
Job seekers browse employment listings at the Seoul Western Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Statistics released its "Supplementary Survey on the Elderly in the Economically Active Population, May 2026" on Wednesday, showing the population of Koreans aged 55 to 79 stood at about 17.017 million as of May, up 570,000 from last year.

The survey classifies those aged 55 and older as elderly, in line with the age threshold under relevant laws governing support for older adults.

The economically active population in this age group reached about 10.362 million, up 352,000 from a year earlier. Of those, about 10.125 million were employed — up 345,000 from last year.

This marks the first time the number of employed older workers has surpassed 10 million since related statistics were first compiled in 2005. The figure has grown roughly 1.5 times over the past decade, compared with about 6.715 million in 2016.

The labor force participation rate stood at 60.9 percent and the employment rate at 59.5 percent, maintaining the record highs set last year.

Long-term employment at a single workplace is also becoming more common. Among older adults with work experience, 30.5 percent said they are still employed at the workplace where they worked the longest — up 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

The average tenure at that longest-held job was 17 years and 7.1 months, 0.5 months longer than last year. Men averaged 21 years and 8.6 months, while women averaged 13 years and 7.1 months. By tenure bracket, 10 to under 20 years was the most common at 28.7 percent, followed by 30 years or more (22.5 percent) and 20 to under 30 years (19.9 percent).

Among older adults who had already left their longest-held job, the average age at retirement was 53.0, up 0.1 years from a year earlier. The most common reason for leaving was business slowdown, suspension or closure, cited by 24.9 percent, followed by deteriorating health (22.1 percent) and family caregiving responsibilities (15.2 percent).

About 11.782 million older adults said they want to continue working — up 361,000 from last year. The share of all older adults who wish to keep working was 69.2 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from last year's 69.4 percent, but still the second-highest level on record.

The average desired retirement age rose 0.2 years from last year to 73.6. The most common reason for wanting to work was to supplement living expenses, cited by 53.4 percent of respondents. However, that share fell 1.0 percentage point from last year and has been declining since 2019, when it stood at 60.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the share citing the enjoyment of work rose 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 36.7 percent, marking five consecutive years of increase since recording 33.1 percent in 2021.

The number of pension recipients continues to grow, though benefit amounts remain insufficient for many. About 8.969 million older adults received pension payments in the past year, accounting for 52.7 percent of the total — up 1.0 percentage point from last year.

The average monthly pension payment was 880,000 won ($616), up 2.1 percent from the previous year, but still well short of the 1.54 million won minimum cost of living for a single-person household. By payment bracket, 250,000 to under 500,000 won was the most common range at 37.7 percent, followed by 500,000 to under 1 million won (33.2 percent) and 1.5 million won or more (15.9 percent).


y2k@heraldcorp.com