Compared to all salaried employees, 10.8 percent more working moms made less than 2 million won per month. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey has revealed that 49.1 percent of female salaried employees living with a child under 18 years of age were paid less than 2 million won (US$1,773) per month.
Compared to all salaried employees, 10.8 percent more working moms made less than 2 million won per month. The more children a mother had, the less likely she was to be employed.
Statistics Korea announced last Friday that 5.06 million married women between the ages of 15 and 54 lived with a child under 18 years of age.
Among these women, 58.2 percent were active in the labor market, while 56.7 percent were employed.
Out of 2.87 million working moms, 2.29 million were salaried employees, and 37.6 percent received a monthly salary between 1 million and 2 million won. Another 11.5 percent were paid less than 1 million won.
All told, 49.1 percent were paid less than 2 million won.
“In addition to the wage gap between male and female workers, women returning from career breaks tend to be limited to temporary jobs, which might have influenced the statistics,” said Bin Hyun-joon, the head of Employment Statistics at Statistics Korea.
In families with more children, mothers were less likely to be employed.
Among moms with a single child, 57.9 percent were employed, while 56.2 percent of those with two children had a job. For moms with more than three children, only 52.1 percent were employed.
Working moms with younger children were also less likely to be employed.
The employment rate for women between the ages of 15 and 54 was 48.1 percent for those whose youngest child was under 6 years of age, 59.8 percent those with children between 7 and 12 years of age, and 68.1 percent for those with teenagers between 13 and 17 years of age.
The average work week for women living with a child under 18 years of age was 37.2 hours. Working hours shortened when female workers had younger children.
For those whose youngest child was under 6 years old, working hours were 33.9 hours per week. For moms of slightly older children between 7 and 12 years of age, working hours increased to 38.4 hours, and for those with teenagers between 13 and 17 years old, working hours came in at 40.2 hours.
Among female employees with kids, 38.1 percent had children under 6 years of age, while 31.1 percent had children between 7 and 12 years old and 30.8 percent had children between 13 and 17 years old.
The data also revealed that 79.6 percent of female workers living with children under 18 years of age were salaried employees, while 20.4 percent were unpaid workers.
Among female salaried employees with children, 70.2 percent had full-time positions, while 29.8 percent worked part-time.
Jobs in professional fields accounted for 32.4 percent of the total among female employees with children, while 27.5 percent were office workers, and 12.9 percent worked in the services industry.
Jeju Province had the highest employment rate for women living with children under 18 years of age, reaching as high as 73.3 percent. The city of Ulsan had the lowest rate, at 49.7 percent.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
