In the first half of this year, there were 1.34 million high school girls, ‘the lowest ever’… 42% due to childcare | Aju Economy

In the first half of this year, the number of women who took a break from their careers (Gyeongdannyeo) was found to be close to 1.35 million. It was found that 4 out of 10 women who took a career break quit their jobs to raise children.

According to the ‘Employment Status of Married Women in the First Half of 2023 Regional Employment Survey’ published by Statistics Korea on the 21st, among the 7,943,000 married women aged 15 to 54 in the first half of this year, 2,837,000 were not employed.

Among them, the number of women who took a career break and quit their jobs was 1,349,000, a decrease of 48,000 from the same period last year. The proportion of women with career breaks compared to married women aged 15 to 54 was 17.0%, down 0.2 percentage points from a year ago (17.0%). It is the lowest since statistics were compiled in 2014.

Looking at women who took a career break by age, those aged 40 to 44 had the largest number at 370,000, followed by those aged 35 to 39 with 331,000.

Among married women, the age group with the highest rate of career interruptions was 35 to 39 years old, accounting for 26.9%, and the lowest rate was 50 to 54 years old, 7.2%.

Looking at the reasons for quitting a job, the most common reason was childcare (42.0%). This means that 4 out of 10 women who take a career break quit their jobs to raise children. The next highest was marriage (26.2%), pregnancy/childbirth (23.0%), children’s education (4.4%), and family care (4.3%).

For this reason, the proportion of women with career breaks was higher in families with children. Among married women aged 15 to 54, the proportion of women who took a career break living with children under 18 was calculated to be 24.9%.

In particular, the younger or more children there are, the larger the proportion of women who have taken a career break. The proportion of women who took a career break by number of children was highest in the following order: 3 or more children (29.4%), 2 (26.0%), and 1 (23.1%). The proportion of women who took a career break by child age was highest in the following order: 6 years or younger (35.9%), 7 to 12 years old (21.9%), and 13 to 17 years old (11.9%).

Looking at the period of career interruption, 539,000 people (40.0%) had more than 10 years, 325,000 people (24.1%) had 5 to 10 years, 178,000 people (13.2%) had 3 to 5 years, and 1 year. There were 155,000 people (11.5%) who worked less than 1 to 3 years, and 152,000 people (11.2%) who worked less than 1 to 3 years.

Meanwhile, the number of so-called ‘working mothers’ who live with children under the age of 18 was 2.609 million, a decrease of 13,000 from a year ago. By age, 861,000 people were 40-44 years old, 644,000 people were 45-49 years old, 562,000 people were 35-39 years old, 271,000 people were 30-34 years old, and 221,000 people were 50-54 years old. .

By level of education, the proportion of employed married women with a college degree or higher (1,867,000) was the highest. Next, those with a high school diploma or less accounted for 742,000 people.