The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 7th (local time) that East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and China are aging faster than anywhere else in the world.
The NYT said, “In East Asian countries, as the population shrinks and fewer young people enter the labor market, people in their 70s and older have to work hard.”
“As the pension situation has deteriorated, it has become difficult for the government to pay enough pensions to people who have retired every month,” he said. What’s more, the elderly themselves are well aware of the reality of an aging society.”
The NYT pointed out that in Korea, the proportion of the working population aged 65 or over is around 40%, in Hong Kong, 1 in 8 elderly, and in Japan, 1 in 4 elderly people, which is very high in comparison. to 18% in the United States.
NYT also presented the changing labor market landscape and policies in East Asian countries as their reliance on older workers increases.
In Japan, the government has introduced policies for older workers, such as subsidizing small and medium enterprises that strengthen facilities for older workers. However, it is noted that stable regular office jobs are usually given to young people, and contract jobs with low wages and high physical use are mainly given to the elderly.
The NYT reported that low-wage contract workers receive only the basic pension provided by the government, not the corporate retirement pension, but the average pension in Korea, China and Japan is less than 500 dollars (about 630,000 after u win) per month.
“Countries are grappling with how to respond to an aging population and reduce the poverty rate of the elderly while trying to change policy such as corporate subsidies and adjustments to the retirement age,” he reported.
Shin Yong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com
