women in the 30s decreases, and then increases again in the 40s displaying the
M shape. However, the jobs for women in the 40s are mostly irregular positions
and low-quality jobs compared to the jobs they had in the 20s or jobs for men.
In particular, according to data from Statistics Korea 7 , the lowest point of
employment rate among women in their 30s has shifted from the early 30s (34
or younger) to the late 30s (35 or older) since 2015, which reflects the reality
that women who secured jobs in their 20s delay the time of childbirth.
<Table 3> Men/Women Employment Rate by Year
Category
Gender
Men
Women
Employment Rate by Year (%)
Age Group
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
20~29
59.2
58.4
58.2
58.3
57.3
55.7
55.8
30~39
90.3
89.1
89.5
89.8
90.3
90.2
90.9
40~49
91.8
90.9
91.2
91.6
91.7
92.0
92.7
20~29
59.1
58.0
58.3
58.7
58.8
57.8
59.0
30~39
54.7
52.7
53.7
53.7
54.5
55.5
56.3
40~49
64.7
64.1
64.2
64.9
64.6
64.6
65.1
(Source: Economically Active Population Survey, National Statistical Office, 2016)
16. Particularly, the low economic participation of highly-educated women raises a
serious problem. The college entrance rate among women was higher (74.6%)
than men (67.6%) in 2015, and more women than men entered both two-year
junior colleges and four-year universities. According to the ‘Statistical Yearbook
of Education’ (2016) by the Korean Educational Development Institute, the rate
of women’s tertiary education (higher education from junior college and above)
is the highest among the OECD member countries. Although the employment
rate of highly-educated women changed from the L shape in 2011 to the M
shape in 2015, their return-to-work rates are lower than that of women with high
school education, and the time of their return is also different. Women with
university education return to work in their late 30s or early 40s, quicker than
women with high school education, and the employment rates after the age 40
7 Statistics Korea, Women’s Lives through Statistics in 2016, June 28 th, 2016