31,665 Fathers Took Parental Leave Last Year... 16.1 Times More Than 9 Years Ago

Statistics Korea, Provisional Results of 2019 Parental Leave Statistics

159,153 Parental Leave Takers in 2019… Up 4.5% from a Year Earlier
Mothers Still Make Up Majority of Parental Leave, but Fathers’ Numbers Surge

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Last year, the number of parental leave takers approached 160,000, showing a 2.2-fold increase compared to 2010. In particular, fathers taking parental leave increased by 16.1 times.

On the 22nd, Statistics Korea announced the '2019 Parental Leave Statistics Results (Provisional)'.

The parental leave statistics were newly developed this year as a nationally approved statistic to provide basic data necessary for policies addressing low birth rates and for establishing and evaluating work-family balance policies. The 2019 figures are provisional and will be finalized after one year. Considering the time lag between the start of parental leave and the application for parental leave benefits, the provisional figures are counted lower than the finalized figures. This means the actual number of parental leave takers is higher.

According to the parental leave statistics, in 2019, the number of people who started parental leave for children aged 8 or younger or in the second grade of elementary school or below was 159,153, an increase of 4.5% (6,912 people) compared to the previous year. This is about 2.2 times higher than the figure from nine years ago in 2010.

Among all parental leave takers, fathers accounted for 19.9% and mothers 80.1%, with mothers still making up the majority, but the number of fathers taking parental leave is rapidly increasing. Last year, the number of fathers on parental leave was 31,665, which is 16.1 times higher than in 2010 (1,962), while mothers increased 1.8 times from 70,807 to 127,488 during the same period.

The number of parental leave takers per 100 newborns in 2019 was 22.8, up 1.6 from the previous year, representing about a 2.4-fold increase compared to 2010. For fathers, the number increased by 0.3 to 1.3, and for mothers, it increased by 1.2 to 21.4. By age group, fathers aged 35-39 (40.7%) and mothers aged 30-34 (51.8%) were the most common.

Among parents who took parental leave for children born last year, 63.3% were employed by companies with 300 or more employees. Fathers were most commonly employed in manufacturing, and mothers in health and social welfare industries, accounting for 20.7% and 18.2%, respectively.

The survey results show that 41.7% of mothers who gave birth in 2019 had jobs as of the birth date. The employment rate has been steadily increasing from 35.9% in 2015, 36.8% in 2016, to 38.1% in 2017. The employment rate of mothers before and after childbirth from 2015 to 2017 decreased continuously from 360 days before childbirth, then gradually increased from 90 to 120 days after childbirth, decreased again between 390 and 420 days, and increased once more after 480 days. About two years after childbirth, the employment rate recovered to a level 1 to 2 percentage points higher than the rate at the time of childbirth.