The World On arirang

Korea's workforce is getting older.
New figures show that, in April, about one third of the country's employed population was over the age of 50 an almost 11 percent rise year-on-year.
Statistics Korea said on Thursday that the number of workers over 50 exceeded the eight million mark for the first time ever. which is about two-fold increase from 20 years ago.
In contrast the number of workers in their twenties and thirties came to 9.4 million a three percent drop from a year earlier.
The older labor force is the result of Korea's changing age demographic.
Koreans between the ages of 15 and 29 have decreased by more than 15 percent since 1991, due to the country's low birthrate but the over 50s have increased by almost 14 percent. as the post-war babyboomer generation are now in their fifties.
And, with medical advancements and healthier diets the older generation is now able to work to an older age than before.
But, since they are slower at adapting to new technologies and lack productivity compared to the younger generation analysts express concerns over falling youth employment.
They point out that an aging labor force increases the cost of labor for companies as well as welfare expenditure.
And some even argue that older workers are one of the causes of high youth unemployment.
So, to tackle these issues analysts say people should make more babies and the job market should adjust to the older society by extending the retirement age and reforming salary systems.
Choi Won-young, Arirang News.