"70% of Middle-Aged Job Seekers Are Involuntarily Unemployed"

FKI Middle-Aged Job Hope Center Conducts Job Search Activity Survey for Job Seekers Aged 40 and Over

Data provided by Jeongyeongnyeon Center for Middle-aged and Senior Employment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] A survey found that 7 out of 10 middle-aged and older job seekers left their jobs involuntarily due to reasons such as encouraged resignation, honorary retirement, or layoffs.

The Federation of Korean Industries Middle-aged and Older Job Hope Center announced on the 3rd the results of the 2021 survey on job-seeking activities of 306 job seekers aged 40 and above.

According to the survey, among middle-aged and older job seekers aged 40 and above, 7 out of 10 (71.9%) were found to have left their jobs involuntarily due to reasons such as "encouraged resignation, honorary retirement, layoffs, contract termination (59.5%)" and "business downturn, temporary closure or shutdown (12.4%)." Responses indicating retirement due to reaching retirement age accounted for 19.0%.

6 out of 10 Job Seekers Hope to Re-employ Even Outside Their Main Career Field
Desired Monthly Wage 2.72 Million KRW, Wish to Continue Economic Activity Beyond Age 70

It was found that 6 out of 10 middle-aged and older job seekers hope to find re-employment even if it is not in their main career field. The reasons for choosing different desired job types from their previous main career were cited as "low possibility of employment in the existing occupation due to age restrictions, etc. (58.1%)", "considering long-term vision, the desired occupation is more advantageous than past career field (11.1%)", and "desired occupation is easier for middle-aged employment (10.1%)."

The desired monthly wage for re-employment among middle-aged and older job seekers was identified as 2.72 million KRW. This is 20.9% lower than the wage of 3.44 million KRW at the time of recent job separation.

By wage range, 33.6% hoped for between 2 million KRW and less than 2.5 million KRW, followed by 23.9% for 2.5 million KRW to less than 3 million KRW, and 15.0% for 1.5 million KRW to less than 2 million KRW. Those hoping for 5 million KRW or more accounted for 5.6%.

Biggest Difficulty in Job Seeking: "Lack of Hiring"

The biggest difficulty middle-aged and older job seekers face during job hunting was "lack of hiring demand for middle-aged workers (32.9%)". This was followed by "a social atmosphere that emphasizes age (30.2%)", "lack of new skills and job competencies (13.5%)", and "difficulty adjusting expectations (10.6%)."

Among middle-aged and older job seekers, online activities such as internet (39.8%) and mobile (15.1%) accounted for the highest proportion (53.6%) during job seeking, followed by introductions through acquaintances (15.1%). To revitalize re-employment for the middle-aged, necessary tasks included "development of various jobs suitable for middle-aged workers (31.2%)", "expansion of policy support such as employment subsidies for companies hiring middle-aged workers (15.5%)", and "operation of various vocational training programs including specialized skills and certification education (14.4%)."

Park Cheol-han, Director of the Federation of Korean Industries Small and Medium Business Cooperation Center, stated, "Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 since last year and the resulting economic downturn, the proportion of involuntary retirees is increasing," and emphasized, "It is necessary for the government to provide multifaceted policy support to activate hiring of middle-aged workers so that they do not fall into long-term unemployment."