SEOUL — In South Korea, one out of every six married women in the age group of 15-54 has experienced a career break, primarily due to pregnancy and child-rearing responsibilities. This trend was highlighted in data released on Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, as of April, about 1.35 million married women in this age group have stopped working, which constitutes approximately 17 percent of the total 7.94 million married women in this demographic. The agency noted a year-on-year decline of 3.45 percent, or 48,000 women, in the number of career breaks, correlating with a decrease of 159,000 in the total female population of this age group.
The data further revealed that 42 percent of these women cited child-rearing as the primary reason for their career discontinuation. This was followed by 26 percent who left their jobs due to marriage, 23 percent due to pregnancy and childbirth, and 4 percent for reasons related to child education.
By age, women in their 40s accounted for the largest proportion of job quitters at 43.8 percent, followed closely by those aged 30-39 at 40.33 percent.
In contrast, the number of working mothers with children under 18 stood at 2.61 million as of April, with an employment rate of 60 percent. The overall employment rate for married women aged 15-54 in the country reached 64.3 percent in April, showing an increase from 62.6 percent the previous year.
South Korea is currently facing a significant decline in childbirths, as an increasing number of young people are choosing to avoid marriage and childbearing. This trend is reflected in the country's total fertility rate, which has dropped to a record low of around 0.7 this year. As of April, married women constituted 58.4 percent of the total female population aged 15-54 in South Korea.