Single-person households (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Single-person households in South Korea have reduced spending due mainly to high housing expenses and a tough job market situation, affecting the recovery of private consumption, a central bank report showed Tuesday.
The proportion of one-person households out of the country’s total has been on a constant increase from 27.2 percent in 2015 to 33.3 percent in 2020 and further to 35.5 percent last year amid a delay in marriages and rapid aging, according to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Their average consumption propensity had fallen by 5.8 percent from 2019 to 2023, the sharpest decline among all the country’s households, followed by a 4.3 percent decrease among three-member households and a 2.5 percent fall in two-member households.
The reduction of spending by one-person households came as house-related expenditures, such as rent and electricity bills, have grown markedly to take up the largest part of their spending.
Elderly people who lived alone were found to have cut spending as they suffered difficulties caused by fewer temporary jobs available during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Of the one-person households, those aged 60 and older accounted for 36.4 percent, or the largest share, followed by those aged 29 and younger at 18.6 percent.
“Prices have jumped over the past several years. Given the structural features of a single-person household, it is difficult for those who live alone to share and reduce burdens from such economic impacts,” the BOK said in the report.
“Their dwindling spending has hindered the recovery of the country’s total consumption, as single-person households now account for the largest proportion and their spending takes up around 20 percent of the total,” it said.
The BOK called for tailored policy measures for each age group in accordance with their needs by focusing on ways of better ensuring stable housing, income and job security.
In 2023, some 70 percent of single-person households earned less than 30 million won (US$21,378) a year, compared with the average annual income of 30.95 million for all households, government data showed.
The state statistics agency has said the proportion of one-person households is projected to rise constantly to surpass 40 percent in 2052.
(Yonhap)
