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Korea's 60s overtake 20s in employment despite ill-fitting job

Published: 18 Apr. 2026, 07:00

Job seekers fill out application forms at a job fair in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul on April 16. [NEWS1]

Older Koreans are entering the workforce in growing numbers, but many are struggling to find jobs that match their experience, highlighting challenges in the labor market amid a rapid aging population.

Employment among people in their 60s has surpassed that of those in their 20s, but many remain confined to low-quality or mismatched jobs.

After 34 years at a domestic airline, Cho Won-jin returned to the job market expecting to find work. Instead, he faced more than a year of rejection — nearly 200 applications and no interviews.

The 62-year-old, who lives in Goyang, Gyeonggi, retired two years ago after dedicating over 30 years to the airline company. He then applied to around 200 jobs to cover living expenses, but what followed was more than a year of rejection — not a single interview.

“Thanks to my overseas work experience, I can speak English and Chinese, and after retirement, I even learned Photoshop and video editing at an educational institute,” Cho said. “But because of my age, I was screened out at the very first stage every time and couldn’t even get an interview.”

After more than a year of struggle, Cho recently found work as a tour bus driver through an acquaintance.

“When I wasn’t working, I felt severely depressed,” Cho said. “Now I’m happy to have something to do every day. My goal is to later work as a tour guide who makes use of my experience and runs a YouTube channel.”

Like Cho, more people in their 60s are choosing to remain economically active after retirement. Their participation in the workforce is already surpassing that of younger generations. Often referred to as “Young Sixty,” this group is healthier, more active and more willing to work than previous generations. As people born during a second wave of high birth rates in Korea, between 1964 and 1974, reach retirement age, their presence is reshaping Korea’s labor market.

The employment rate for people in their 60s stood at 59.5 percent last month, exceeding the 58.7 percent for those in their 20s, according to government statistics released on April 16. The employment rate is the share of employed individuals in a given age group. Typically, people in their 20s have higher employment rates than those in their 60s, but this trend has reversed.

[MINISTRY OF DATA AND STATISTICS]

A similar reversal first appeared in September last year, when the employment rate for those in their 60s reached 61.1 percent, surpassing 60.7 percent for those in their 20s for the first time in about four years. The pattern continued for three consecutive months. Although people in their 20s recorded higher rates from December of last year to February, those in their 60s overtook them again last month, suggesting the shift may become the new norm.

The rise of the working Young Sixties could help ease the growing burden of an aging society. Korea’s working-age population, defined as those aged 15 to 64, peaked at 37.62 million in 2019 and is projected to fall to 20.69 million by 2060.

Continued workforce participation among retirees could slow the pace of decline. A report by the Bank of Korea estimates that as the Young Sixty cohort enters retirement between 2024 and 2034, annual economic growth could decrease by an average of 0.38 percentage points. Higher employment among people in their 60s could reduce that decline by 0.14 to 0.22 percentage points.

The quality of jobs, however, remains a concern. Even when older workers find employment, many are unable to utilize their previous experience. An analysis by the National Assembly Budget Office found that 53.2 percent of reemployed people aged 65 and older in 2023 said their current job was “not at all” or “not very” related to their main lifetime occupation. Korea recorded the highest employment rate for those aged 65 and older among OECD nations at 37.3 percent, yet about one in three — 35.4 percent — held low-quality jobs such as simple labor.

People line up to apply for jobs at a senior employment fair hosted by Mapo District at the Mapo District Office in Mapo District, western Seoul on Dec. 10, 2025. [YONHAP]

Experts say experienced workers should be better utilized.

“A system should be created so that skilled workers who retire from large companies can move to small and medium-sized enterprises and apply their expertise,” said Hong Sok-chul, an economics professor at Seoul National University. “The government needs to design platforms or systems to help retirees find suitable jobs.”

Extending the retirement age will require careful coordination with wage reform. The Democratic Party’s special committee on extending the retirement age from 60 to 65 has temporarily suspended its activities due to the June local elections but is expected to resume discussions afterward.

“In a system like Korea’s, where seniority-based wages remain, extending the mandatory retirement age could increase the burden on companies by increasing the number of workers whose wages exceed their productivity,” said Seok Byoung-hoon, a professor of economics at Ewha Womans University. “The wage system should be restructured to focus more on performance-based pay, and continued employment after retirement, as seen in Japan, should also be considered.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY NAM SOO-HYOUN [[email protected]]