With the growing number of single person households, the number of meal kit products for single person households has increased dramatically. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 18 (Korea Bizwire) –South Korea is witnessing a significant rise in both dual-income and single-person households, reflecting societal shifts in the country’s demographics and economic landscape.
According to Statistics Korea, out of the 12.69 million households with spouses last year, 6.12 million (48.2%) were dual-income households, marking a 2.1 percentage point increase from the previous year and setting a new high. This trend was particularly pronounced among the economically active population aged 15 to 64, where 55.7% of households had both partners employed.
Dual-income households were most prevalent among those in their 30s (58.9%), followed by those in their 50s (58%) and 40s (57.9%). Even the younger age group of 15 to 29 and the older cohort of 60 and above recorded dual-income household ratios of 52.6% and 32.5%, respectively.
Notably, the proportion of dual-income couples working in the same industry dropped slightly to 35.2%, while the share of those with identical occupations declined marginally to 37.4%. However, certain professions exhibited a tendency for spouses to share similar careers, with 76.9% of skilled agricultural and fishery workers and 50.9% of professionals and related occupations being dual-income households.
In parallel with the rise of dual-income households, South Korea also witnessed a surge in single-person households, reaching a record high of 7.39 million, an increase of 164,000 from the previous year. Among these single-person households, 4.68 million (63.3%) were employed, marking a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous year.
The age groups with the highest number of employed single-person households were those in their 30s (1.09 million), 60 and above (1.07 million), and 15 to 29 (907,000). Notably, the employment rate among single-person households was highest for those in their 30s, at 87.4%.
Examining the wage levels of employed individuals living alone, the largest share (34%) earned a monthly wage between 2 million won and 3 million won, followed by those earning between 3 million won and 4 million won (24.8%), over 4 million won (20%), and below 1 million won (11.1%).
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
