| kwwa |
2002-10-28 14:53:04, 조회 : 115 |
Survey of Women's Employment / by Yookyoung Moon
/ KWDI Research Reports/Women's Studis Forum, Vol.14/December 1998
Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
The first survey of women's employment was conducted in 1986, and the second and the third surveys were conducted in 1992 and 1997 respectively. This present survey was undertaken since there are only few data for an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of women's economic activities which are closely related to such family related matters as marriage and child rearing. The statistical data published by the government tend to be insufficient, and it was difficult to choose representative samples through a large-scale survey due to the limited funds.
The surveys of women's employment have fulfilled the role of providing basic materials for the researchers who have academic and policy interests in women's labor. Based on the data, numerous papers and theses have been written, both domestically and internationally,1) and there are increasingly high expectations for the future conduct of the survey. While conducting the three surveys on women's employment, survey targets and research contents were more or less adjusted. First of all, the research targets were limited to married women in the first survey, but the second survey included single women excluding students, and the third survey extended the target to the students over 15 years of age who mostly belong to the economically nonactive population.
Such changes were made in order to improve the quality of the data by assimilating the samples to the characteristics of the population as much as possible, rather than to change the contents or purposes of research.
Perhaps the most important change was that considerable weight started to be given to obtain data on women's employment history in the second survey. The change reflected the policy direction of promoting married women's reemployment and the academic achievements of surveying the dynamic changes in women's life cycle and employment. In the third survey, in order to improve the credibility of the survey of women's employment history which depended on the memory of the respondents, life history such as graduation, marriage, and childbirth were surveyed as an integral part of employment history.
As such, this survey exerted a lot of effort in creating firsthand materials for the persons demanding such data in addition to the research goal of analyzing women's general economic activities. Many tasks are being implemented or planned at the present time in KWDI which attempt at in-depth analyses of the data, and we expect that many researchers will utilize this data in the future.
Ⅱ. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE SURVEYED
1. Conduct Interviews
At first, the characteristics of the households and household members were surveyed and the women who belong to the households who are between 15 and 65 years of age were also surveyed. The interviews were conducted nationwide and the sampling unit was a household. There were 80 sampling districts, the same as in the first survey, and there were 40 households in each sampling district. Sampling was conducted step by step utilizing proportional probability sampling, random sampling, and stratified sampling.
The survey consisted of three stages: a preliminary survey, making lists of households in the sampled areas, and a main survey. The main survey was conducted for 35 days between March 13 and April 16, 1997. The survey was actually completed for 3,196 households out of a total 3,200 households sampled. Only household surveys were conducted among 444 households because there were no women in the sample category. The women between 15 and 65 years of age totaled 3,639 women, among whom 2,736 were married and 902 were single.2) Due to the purpose of this paper, the targets of analyses and their numbers are different for each chapter as follows.
[Table 1] Targets of Analysis and Their Numbers in Each Chapter,
unit: household, persons
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Chapter Target of Analysis Number Surveyed
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II - Household 3,196 households
- Members of households 10,421 persons
- Women to be surveyed
between 15 and 65 years of age 3,639 persons
III - Employed women 1,614 persons
IV - Unemployed women and
economically nonactive women 2,024 persons
V - Women between 25 and 65 years 2,803 persons
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2. Characteristics of Household Members
Looking at the demographic characteristics of the household members who reside in the sampled households, women accounted for 50.9%, and men 49.1%. The ratio of urban areas and rural areas was 87.5: 2.5, showing a high ratio of urban areas. As to the marital status, 64.4% were married (husband present) and 25.9% were single. As to education, 58.2% were high school graduates or above, which shows the tendency toward a high level of education. Looking at the economic activities, the economic activities participation rate for all the household members was 58.3%, with 73.7% for males and 44.0% for females.
3. Characteristics of Households
As the number of agricultural workers has been remarkably reduced nationwide, the ratio of rural households was drastically reduced from the second survey, showing the ratio of non-farming household and farming household to be 88.2 : 11.8. As to the family pattern, the nuclear family pattern was the most frequent with 57.7%. The average number of household members are 3.26 persons nationwide, 3.30 in urban areas, and 3.12 in rural areas.
Looking at the heads of households, males account for 85.9% and female 14.1%, showing that mostly men are the heads of households. Among the heads of households, 85.6% are employed and 15.4% are unemployed. As to their occupation, 15.2% are service and sales workers, which shows the highest frequency. As to the distribution by industries, 67.6% are employed in the third industry. As to the occupational status, regular employment accounts for the highest with 49.3%, followed by the self-employed. The average household income is 1,553,669 won, with a huge gap of 730,000 won between urban areas with 1,654,417 won and rural with 921,230 won.
4. General Characteristics of Those Surveyed
The total number of those surveyed amounted to 3,639 persons in this survey and 88.2% of them lived in urban areas. As to the level of education, 24.1% were under the middle school graduation level, 20.9% were middle school graduates, and 54.0% were high school graduates. As to the marital status, married women accounted for 74.8% and single women 25.1%. As to their economic activities of those surveyed, the economically nonactive account for 52.8%, employed women 44.4%, and the unemployed 2.9%. As to the areas, 100 persons (96.2%) out of the total of 104 unemployed resided in urban areas.
[Table 2] Distribution of Those Surveyed by Age, Education, and Economic Activities
unit: persons, %
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Total Urban Areas Rural Areas
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No. % No. % No. %
Age 3,637 100.0 3,208 100.0 429 100.0
15-19 419 11.5 377 11.8 42 9.8
20-29 840 23.1 759 23.7 81 18.9
30-39 935 25.7 856 26.7 79 18.4
40-49 671 18.4 605 18.9 66 15.4
50-59 536 14.7 431 13.4 105 24.5
60-64 236 6.5 180 5.6 56 13.1
Education 3,622 100.0 3,198 100.0 424 100.0
Under middle school 875 24.1 657 20.5 218 20.5
Middle school grad. 755 20.9 683 21.4 72 21.4
High school grad. 1,363 37.6 1,249 39.1 114 39.1
Above jr.college 634 17.4 609 19.0 20 19.0
Economic Activities 3,639 100.0 3,209 100.0 430 100.0
Employed 1,614 44.4 1,399 43.6 215 50.0
Unemployed 104 2.9 100 3.1 4 0.9
Non-active 1,921 52.8 1,710 53.3 211 49.1
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When looking at the economic activities of the spouses, only the husband is employed in 47.6% of the 2,410 couples surveyed, and both spouses are working in 38.5% of the surveyed. The households where only those wife is employed account for 3.5%.
[Table 3] Distribution of Economic Activities of Spouses
unit: persons (%)
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Economic Activities of the wife
----------------------------------- husband Total
Employed Unemployed Nonactive
-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------
Economic |Employed 929(38.5) 51(2.1) 1,148(47.6) 2,128(88.3)
Activities of|Unemployed 21( 0.9) 4(0.2) 24( 1.0) 49( 2.0)
the Husband |Nonactive 85( 3.5) 5(0.2) 143( 5.9) 233( 9.7)
-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------
Wife Total 1,035(42.9) 60(2.5) 1,315(54.6) 2,410(100.0
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Ⅲ. EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN EMPLOYEES
1. Employment Structure of Women
Despite the continued increase in women's economic activities participation rate, there are no major changes in the employment structure of women. In other words, there has been an upward shift in the women's economic activities participation by age, and the lowest point moved from 25-29 years of age to 30-34 years of age, but the pattern still remained M-shaped. Such an M-shaped curve shows that there still remains a tendency to discontinue employment after marriage and childbirth. As has been made clear in many studies, such discontinuity in employment in the Korean labor market which has a personnel management system based on years of experience makes it difficult for women to be promoted in status and/or salary. This discontinuity in employment limits the opportunities for education and training and has further impact on employment.
Women's employment structure shows totally different characteristics by marital status. On the one hand, single women's human resources are mostly utilized as regular employees such as office clerks, professionals, or para-professionals. On the other hand, married women are working as self-employed, unpaid family workers, temporary employees, or daily employees and as service and salesworkers, agriculture and fishery workers, or unskilled laborers. Such tendencies are closely related to the discontinuity in women's employment due to marriage and childbirth and shows that Korean industries tend to utilize women's human resources differently according to marital status.
[Table 4] Women's Employment Structure by Marital Status
unit: % (persons)
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Industry
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Total Single Married
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Agriculture/Fishery/Mining 11.9(191) 1.0 15.6
Manufacturing 20.3(326) 18.7 20.9
Electricity/Gas/Water 0.2(3) 0.5 0.1
Construction 2.7(43) 5.2 1.8
Wholesale/Retail/Hotel/ 29.7(477) 20.1 32.9
Restaurant
Transportation/Storage/ 1.7(27) 3.7 0.9
Communication
Finance/Insurance/Real Estate 9.8(157) 14.7 8.0
Personal Social Services 23.9(384) 36.1 19.8
Total 100.0(1,608) 100.0(4.2) 100.0(1,201)
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Occupation
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Total Single Married
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Legislature/Civil Servant/ 2.0(32) 1.2 2.2
Manager
Professional 5.8(94) 10.7 4.2
Para-Professional 13.8(223) 22.3 11.0
Office Clerk 16.7(269) 43.7 7.4
Service Sales 28.8(464) 16.6 33.0
Agriculture/Fisheries/ 10.8(174) 0.0 14.5
Skilled Worker
Technician 5.5(89) 1.7 6.8
Assembly Operation Worker 1.8(29) 0.7 2.2
Simple laborer 14.7(237) 3.0 18.7
Total 100.0(1,611) 100.0(403) 100.0(1,203)
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Size of Industries
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Total Single Married
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Under 4 persons 50.3(808) 24.1 59.3
5-9 11.8(190) 17.1 9.8
10-29 22.4(360) 32.3 19.0
50-99 6.3(101) 7.7 5.8
100-299 4.3(69) 7.4 3.3
300-999 3.7(59) 9.2 1.8
Over 1000 persons 1.2(19) 2.2 0.8
Total 100.0(1,606) 100.0(403) 100.0(1,198)
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Occupational Status
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Total Single Married
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Employer 2.8(45) 1.8 3.2
Self-employed 14.8(236) 4.2 18.9
Unpaid Family Worker 19.1(305) 2.0 25.0
Regular Employee 41.8(667) 77.3 29.9
Temporary Employee 11.5(183) 13.8 10.7
Daily Employee 10.0(160) 3.3 12.3
Total 100.0(1,596) 100.0(400) 100.0(1,196)
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2. Characteristics of Women Workers by Occupational Status
A. Characteristics of Unpaid Female Workers
1) Female Employer and Self-employed
Unpaid female workers accounted for 36.7% of all the working women, among which the employers were 2.8%, self-employed 14.8%, and unpaid family workers 19.1%. Looking at the characteristics of female employers and self-employed, 42.7% were between 40-54 years of age, 31.6% were between 30-39 , 15.7% were over 55 years of age, 8.5% were between 25-29, and 1.4% were between 15-24. In other words, women employers and self-employed were mostly middle-aged women. As to their marital status, 94.0% were married women. As to their level of education, 34.9% were high school graduates, 20.3% were middle-school graduates, 29.2% were elementary school graduates or below, and 15.7% were junior college graduates or above. The level of education does not seem to have a big impact on whether or not a person starts a business.
2) Unpaid Family Workers
Unpaid family workers account for 19.1% of all the women workers. Most of them are over 35 years of age, and they account for 83.9% of all the female unpaid family workers. However, junior college graduates account for only 2.6% and college graduates for only 1.0%. When looking at their occupation, agriculture and fisheries workers and sales and service workers accounted for 40.0% each.
B. Characteristics of Paid Female Workers
1) Job Search Method of Female Workers
When looking at the way female workers find employment, 48.8% found it through the introduction of neighbors or friends and 11.1% through parents and relatives. About 60% found employment through people they knew personally. In addition, 10.8% found it by passing tests, 7.5% were recommended by a school, 8.3% found employment by themselves, and 1.0% through newspaper advertisements. Only 1.2% found employment through vocational guidance centers.
When looking at the characteristics of women workers, a greater number of younger workers found employment through tests, school recommendations, and newspaper advertisement, while 75% of those over 40 years of age found employment through people they knew well such as neighbors and friends.
2) Working Conditions of Women Paid Workers
According to the results of this survey, the average monthly wage of women paid workers was 780,400 won. As to the occupational status, the wage was 876,500 won for regular employees, 715,300 won for temporary employees, and 461,200 won for daily employees. When comparing the wage of the regular employees of this survey with the data of the Ministry of Labor, this survey finding was a little higher than 810,500 won which was the average monthly wage reported by the Ministry of Labor.3)
Looking at the wage level of female regular employees by age, it increases from 575,000 won for those between 15-19 years of age to 760,000 won for 20-24, 994,000 won for 40-44, 842,000 won for 45-49, 669,000 for 50-54, 602,000 for 55-59, and 575,000 for 60-64. Such a wage curve contrasts considerably with the wage curve of males which tends to continuously increase with age due to the wage system based on years of experience.
3) Years of Continued Employment of Female Workers
According to the results of this study, the average years of continued employment for female paid workers was 3.4 years. Looking at the average years of continued employment of female workers by education level, the longest was 5.2 years for those under elementary school graduation level, the next longest was 4.0 for college graduates, followed by 3.1 years for junior high school graduates, 2.8 years for high school graduates, and 2.2 years for junior college graduates.
By status as a head of a household, those female workers who are the heads of households recorded 5.1 years, while those who are not recorded 3.1 years. By occupation, women professionals recorded the longest with 5.0 years, and the next longest was unskilled laborers with 4.1 years, followed by technicians with 3.7 years, office clerks with 3.1 years, para-professionals with 3.0 years, service and sales workers period 2.9 years, and machinery assembly workers with 2.4 years. The reason for the relative long years of continued employment for the elementary school graduates and unskilled laborers is because this study recorded their years of continued employment as the period they have been involved in the present kind of occupation.4)
C. Characteristics of Irregular Female Employees
In comparison to 1992, part-time employment has increased considerably, and 18.5% of all the female paid workers were part-time workers. Most of the part-time workers were middle-aged and more elderly women and their average weekly working hours were 29.6, which was relatively short.
Female domestic workers who stay home and work were 3.1% of all the women workers, and most of them were between 30-49 years of age with an educationed level of high school graduation or under.5) The average working hours for domestic workers was more or less long with 43 hours a week, while their hourly income was considerably low.
Looking at the characteristics of domestic workers, those between 30-34 years of age accounted largest number as 38.8%. The middle-aged and more elderly women between 30-49 years of age account for 79.6% of all the domestic workers. By level of education, 98.1% were high school graduates or under. High school graduates accounted for 51.1%. By marital status, all the domestic workers were married women and 91.8% were not heads of households. Altogether 95.9% of the domestic workers resided in urban areas. The average monthly income of female domestic workers was 314,000 won and their hourly wage was 1,825 won.
In addition, 18.5% of the female paid workers said they were working part-time, which shows that part-time employment has increased considerably.6)
Looking at the age distribution of female workers by employment patterns, the proportion of those women between 30-44 years of age and 55-64 years of age was higher among the part-time female workers. Looking at the proportion of part-time workers among the female wage earners by age, those between 55-64 accounted for the highest (27.0%), followed by 50-54 years (22.8%), 30-34 years (21.8%), and 40-44 years (21.1%). The proportion of part-time workers was relatively lower in the age group of 20-24 years (11.3%), 45-49 years (15.4%), and 25-29 years (18.4%). The average monthly income of female part-time workers was 602,000 won. However, the average weekly working hours for part-time workers was 29.6%, and hourly wage was 5,084 won, which was relatively higher than that of domestic workers.
[Table 5] Proportion of Female Part-time Workers by Age
unit: % (persons)
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5-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 Total
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Full-time 6.2 22.7 17.7 9.9 13.0 11.2 6.9 5.5 4.2 2.7 100.0
Part-time 7.2 12.7 17.7 12.2 13.2 13.2 5.5 7.2 8.3 2.8 100.0
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Ⅳ. CHARACTERISTICS OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN AND
ECONOMICALLY NONACTIVE WOMEN
1. Characteristics and Distribution of Unemployed Women
A. Current Situation of Unemployed Women
Women's unemployment rate in this study is 6.1%, which is much higher than 1.7% of the “Survey of Economically Active Population” by the Bureau of Statistics conducted during the same period. The unemployment rate was higher as the age was lower, showing an inverse ratio. While unemployment rates were 12.5% and 8.6% each for those between 15-19 years of age and 20-24 years, those for women between 55-59 and 60-64 years were only 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.7)
By the level of education, the unemployment rate was the highest among the high school graduates as 7.7%, followed by 6.3% for junior high school graduates, 6.0% for junior college graduates, and 6.2% for college graduates. The unemployment rate was only 3.5% for the elementary school graduates or under. By marital status, the unemployment rate of single women (7.8%) was much higher than that of married women (5.5%). This shows that the unemployment problem of female students who newly advance into the labor market is serious, and especially serious are the problems of girl students who newly graduate from junior and senior high schools.
B. Employment-Seeking Activities of Unemployed Women
The average period of employment-seeking for unemployed women was 3.6 months. By level of education, unemployed women with less than elementary school graduation spent 1.7 months seeking employment, while the junior high school graduates spent 3.6 months, high school graduates 3.7 months, and junior college graduates or over 4.6 months. The higher the level of education, the longer time women spend seeking employment. The period of continued employment seeking was considerably different according to the economic activities condition of the spouse. Unemployed women whose husbands are economically nonactive have sought employment for an average of 9 months, while those whose husbands are employed sought it for 3.5 months, and those whose husbands are unemployed sought it for 1.3 months.
C. Pattern of Employment Desired by Unemployed Women
According to the survey of the desired occupation by unemployed women, 82.7% of unemployed women wanted to find employment as paid workers, 16.3% as self-employed, and 1.0% as employers. By marital status, a higher proportion of married women wanted to be self-employed than single women. By level of education, the higher the level of education, the higher the proportion of women who wanted to be self-employed. Comparing the distribution of desired employment of the unemployed by occupational status with the survey results of 1992, 14.4% of unemployed women in 1992 wanted to participate in economic activities as entrepreneurs or self-employed. In short, the proportion of those women who want to be self-employed has increased among unemployed women for the past 5 years.
[Table 6] Desired Occupational Status of Unemployed Women by Marital Status
unit: % (persons)
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Employer Self-Employed Paid Workers Total
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Total 1.0(1) 16.3(17) 82.7(86) 100.0(104)
Single 2.9 2.9 94.1 100.0(34)
Married 0.0 22.9 77.1 100.0(70)
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According to the result of a survey which asked unemployment seeking employed persons as paid workers whether they want full-time or part-time employment, 58.1% wanted full-time employment and 41.9% wanted part-time employment. As to the reason for wanting part-time employment, 38.9% answered children's education, 22.2% domestic chores, 16.7% childrearing, and 11.1% their own health. It is known in general that women workers prefer part-time employment because of childrearing, but our survey results show that children's education was a more important determining factor.
[Table 7] Desired Pattern of Employment of Unemployed Women by Marital Status
unit: % (persons)
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Full-time Employment Part-time Employment Total
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Total 58.1(50) 41.9(36) 100.0(86)
Single 87.5 12.5 100.0(32)
Married 40.7 59.3 100.0(54)
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D. Occupation Desired by Unemployed Women
As to the occupation desired by unemployed women, 33.0% wanted to be service and sales workers, 23.3% office clerks and unskilled laborers, and 9.7% professionals. By marital status, 55.9% of single unemployed women wanted to be office clerks, while 14.7% each wanted to be paraprofessionals or service and sales workers. Among married women, 42.0% wanted to be service or sales workers and 33.3% unskilled laborers. As to the age groups, the younger the age group, the higher the proportion of unemployed women seeking employment as office clerks, paraprofessionals and professionals. The older the age group, the higher the proportion of women who sought employment as unskilled laborers and service and sales workers.
2. Characteristics and Distribution of Economically Nonactive Women
A. Current Situation of Economically Nonactive Women
Economically nonactive women accounted for 52.8% of all those surveyed. Altogether 89.2% of the economically nonactive women resided in urban areas and the rest of 10.8% resided in towns and townships; 24.4% are single, and 75.6% are married. Heads of households accounted for 5.2%, leaving 94.8% as not heads of households. By level of education, high school graduates accounted for 36.5% of the whole, middle school graduates 25.5%, elementary graduates and under 22.1%, junior college graduates 8.2%, and college graduates 7.7%.
B. Employment-seeking Activities of the Economically Nonactive Women
According to the results of the survey on the economically nonactive women as to whether they had been engaged in employment seeking activities within the previous 5 years, 84.5% of all the economically nonactive women answered they had not been engaged in employment-seeking activities. 1.7% said they were seeking employment a month ago and discontinued it recently. 3.5% said they sought it 2-5 months ago, 2.2% sought it 6-11 months ago, and 8.0% 12 months or more ago.
C. Distribution of the Economically Nonactive Women Seeking Employment
Among the economically nonactive women, 26.9% desired employment. By areas, 27.8% of women in urban areas and 20.0% in rural areas desired employment. By age, more than 30% of all the age groups between 25-54 desired employment.
[Table 8] Desire for Employment by Economically Nonactive Women
unit: % (persons)
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Will Find Employment Will Not Total
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Total 26.9(512) 73.1(1,391) 100.0(1,903)
By areas
Urban areas 27.8 72.2 100.0(1,693)
Rural areas 20.0 80.0 100.0(210)
By age
15-24 16.4 83.6 100.0(477)
25-29 32.7 67.3 100.0(223)
30-34 32.9 67.1 100.0(255)
35-39 39.0 61.0 100.0(223)
40-54 37.4 62.6 100.0(412)
55-59 12.3 87.7 100.0(146)
60-64 10.9 89.1 100.0(153)
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When asked about the reasons for not seeking employment, 25.2% of the
economically nonactive women said it was because they have to attend school,
24.8% said because of bad health, 16.7% because of raising children under 6
years of age, 9.9% because of domestic chores, 8.5% because of children's
education, and 2.3% because of husband's disapproval.
D. Desired Employment Pattern of the Economically Nonactive Population
When surveyed on their desired occupational status, 72.5% of the
economically nonactive women desired to be waged earners, 22.9%
self-employed, and 4.5% employers. By marital status, 97.3% of single women
of married women wanted to find employment as paid workers, while only
68.2% wanted to be paid workers. By level of education, the higher the level,
the higher the proportion of women who wanted to work as self-employed or
employers.
[Table 9] Desired Pattern of Employment of Economically Nonactive
Women by Marital Status
unit: % (persons)
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Employer Self-employed Wage Earner Total
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Total 4.5(23) 22.9(117) 72.5(370) 100.0(510)
Single 1.3 1.3 97.3 100.0(75)
Married 5.1 26.7 68.2 100.0(434)
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When asked about desired employment pattern, 70% of those economically
nonactive women desiring employment as paid workers wanted part-time
employment and 30.0% wanted full-time employment. By areas, 70.6% of urban
area women wanted part-time employment in comparison with 63.6% of rural
areas. The proportion is much higher than for unemployed women, as only
41.9% of unemployed women desired part-time employment. When comparing
the desired employment pattern of single unemployed women and the
economically nonactive population, 87.5% of single unemployed women wanted
full-time employment, while 61.1% of the single economically nonactive
population desired part-time work. This is because a considerable number of
single economically nonactive women are students who cannot be employed. In
addition, 59.3% of the married unemployed women desired part-time
employment, which is a considerably high proportion but which is still lower
than 72.1% of the married economically nonactive population.
When surveyed as to the reasons for desiring part-time employment, 30.1%
of the economically nonactive population said it was because of children's
education, 29.7% because of domestic chores, and 16.8% because of attending
school. 90.9% of the single economically nonactive population who desire
part-time employment said it was because they have to attend school. 91.4%
of married women desired part-time employment because of domestic chores,
child rearing, and children's education. By age, those between 15-24 years of
age said they wanted part-time employment because they have to go to
school, 25-29 because of domestic chores and child rearing, 30-34 because of
child rearing and children's education, 35-39 because of children's education,
and over 40 because of domestic chores. 30-40% of economically nonactive
women between 55-64 years of age desired part-time employment because of
old age and poor health conditions.
Ⅴ. WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
In the previous chapters, we utilized the labor force approach method to
grasp the situation of women's economic activities, which distinguishes
economically active and nonactive populations according to the labor force
condition of the previous week. However, such a concept is not suitable for
analyzing the previous economic activities situation over a few years or few
decades. Therefore, we made distinction between those with jobs and those
without jobs based on the usual labor force situation for the comparably long
period of one year. Those who are employed for more than 6 months every
year are considered as those with jobs,8) and we surveyed the occupational
status, occupation, and industry related to the jobs the person was involved in
for the longest time during the year. Therefore, the “job involvement rate”
hereafter means the proportion of women who were employed for more than
six months among those in each age group.
1. Family Life History
The major turning points (life events) that have impact on women's
employment patterns are: school graduation, marriage, death of spouse, birth of
first child, birth of last child, and termination of childrearing (the last child
reaching 6 years of age). The average age of finishing school education was
16.1 years of age,9) that of the first marriage was 22.3 years, the proportion of
married women was 97.3%, that of the birth of first child 23.6 years, birth of
last child 28.5,10) and the average number of children per married woman is
2.6.11)
In other words, the average woman graduated from school at 16.1 years of
age, got married 6 years later, gave birth to the first child within one or two
years, and completed childbirth before 30 years of age.
In order to see changes in women's life cycles, we compared the
pre-marriage period and the post-childbirth period when a woman could be
employed of the three generations with 15 years gap between each of them.
The pre-marriage period when a woman could be employed is the period after
the graduation of the final school until marriage, which tends to be remarkably
shortened from 8.0 years for those born between 1932 and 1936 to 5.2 years
for those born between 1962 and 1966. Although women tend to get married
later than before, they tend to also graduate at a later stage than before,
which tends to shorten the period when the single women's labor force is
available.
However, the period of possible employment after marriage and childbirth is
clearly being lengthened. The average number of children is reduced, and the
age of giving birth to the last child is also reduced, thus reducing the child
rearing period, so that the number of years the middle age and old age period
after child rearing is lengthened. Assuming that women work until 55 years of
age, the period after the birth of the last child up to 55 years of age has been
lengthened from 22.7 years for those born in between 1932-36 to 26.8 for those
between 1947-51 and 27.4 for 1962-66. Early termination of childbirth will tend
to increase the number of those seeking employment newly or again after
childbirth and child rearing. The increasing number of middle and old aged
women's human resources is meaningful as major potential human resources
in the future.
2. Employment History
A. Job Involvement Rate and Employment Structure by Age
It is a well-known fact that the economic participation rate of Korean
women by age show a M-shape. Such a participation trend is also confirmed
in the data on the previous employment experiences in our survey. The job
involvement rate increases after 15 years of age, reaching the peak at 20 years
of age, and decreases there after. The job involvement rate reaches the lowest
point around 28 years of age, increases gradually afterwards to over 50％. It
reaches the lowest point of 10% in the late 20s. It starts increasing afterwards
but only very slowly. In contrast, the proportion of unpaid family workers and
the self-employed increases continuously, filling the vacuum created by the
decrease in employees. Especially in the late 20s, more than half of women
workers are unpaid family workers. As such, there is a clear pattern that
women participate in the labor market as employees before marriage and
childbirth, and then tend to be employed as family workers or self-employed
afterwards.
B. Participation in the Labor Market by Life Stages
Women's participation in economic activities is known to show much
change during major life stages such as marriage, birth of the first child, birth
of the last child, and schooling. We compared the job involvement rate before
and after the major life stages. As is seen in Table 10, the job involvement
rate right before marriage was 55.0%, but dropped to 27.7% right after
marriage, showing that more than half of working women leave the labor
market after marriage. The job involvement rate right after the birth of the
first child is 26.4%, which shows the lowest employment rate in the major life
stages. The job involvement rate starts increasing afterwards, but there is not
much difference until the birth of the last child. However, the job involvement
rate increases drastically by 11% after the birth of the last child until
elementary school entrance of the last child, and reaches 44.2% right after
elementary school entrance. Such an increasing rate continues until the
graduation of the last child from elementary school, making 54.3% right after
graduation from elementary school, almost recovering the job involvement rate
before marriage. In short, the trend in women's job involvement rate tendency
by life stages shows that most working women exit the labor market with
marriage and return to | | |