Average Age of Workers Rises

The average age of employees working for corporations has risen.
According to a 1998 white paper on labor, released by the Ministry of Labor, the portion of workers who are older than 30 years old jumped to 78 percent from 1994's 74 percent.
The employment research institution Recruit announced that the number of people newly-employed by top 30 conglomerates dropped to 7,000 last year from 17,000 in 1996. The chief editor of Recruit, Lee Jong-koo, said, 'Corporations are unlikely to increase the number of new employees, for the time being.'
As a consequence, the portion of workers higher than the manager level in a certain textile company, identified only as D, rose to 45 percent from 33 percent recorded in 1996, simply because it has not hired any new employees.
At an electronics company, identified as S, the portion of workers younger than 30 declined to 68 percent this year from 75 percent in 1997 and 70 percent in 1998.
A researcher at the Samsung Economic Research Institute, Lee Jung-il, said that the rise in the average age of workers may ultimately drop a firms economic efficiency, as the overall rise in wages paid to senior workers would exceed the increase in output.
A source in the personnel department of a textile company said, 'The employees and the company both suffer, as workers cannot do their best due to the improper position they are in.'
Samsung's researcher, Lee, insisted that companies should employ new workers, even though expenses would rise, and give workers opportunities to obtain new skills and technology.
Kang Joo-an : jooan@joongang.co.kr