The number of working Koreans aged 60 and over has more than doubled in 10 years

SEOUL: The number of working South Koreans aged 60 and over has more than doubled in the past 10 years on higher living costs amid a global economic slowdown, government data showed on Sunday.

The number of working Koreans aged 60 and over rose to 5.77 million in February from 2.73 million in the same month in 2013, Yonhap News Agency quoted Statistics Korea’s Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) as saying.

The figure of 5.77 million was the highest for a February since KOSIS began collecting data in 1996. The latest February figure is 413,000 higher than a year earlier.

Most baby boomers born between 1955 and 1963 have lived to age 60, driving up the number of older people looking for work. Some of them have to work mainly because of rising consumer prices, KOSIS said.

Over the past 10 years, the employment rate for the over-60s has continued to rise, reaching 42.8 percent in February, up from 32.8 percent a decade ago. -Bernama