The number of newborns in South Korea dropped to the lowest level from January to September this year, with the cumulative number of newborns in that period reaching 177,000 since these statistics began in 1981.

Data from the "Korean Statistical Information Service" (KOSIS) showed this on Friday, with the number of newborns in the first three quarters of 1981 reaching 657,000, but it sharply declined since then to less than 400,000 in 2002, then reached 278,000 in 2017.

While in the same period last year, the number of newborns was 193,000, it reached 177,000 this year, a decrease of 16,000 children.

The total fertility rate, meaning the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime, also reached a record low of 0.7 in the first three quarters of 2023, down 0.1 from the previous year.

Considering the observed decline in births usually at the end of the year, it is likely that this rate will drop to 0.6 for the first time in the fourth quarter.

Half of the new jobs go to the elderly  

In a related context, data showed that the elderly in the country occupied half of the new jobs in 2022, while the youth accounted for about 1.15% of the newly added jobs for the same year.

South Korea added 870,000 new jobs in 2022, representing a 3.4% year-on-year increase, bringing the total jobs to 26.45 million, according to data collected by the Korean Statistical Office.

In detail, jobs for those aged 60 and above increased the most by 440,000 jobs, followed by 260,000 new jobs for people in their fifties.

Meanwhile, the number of jobs for people in their forties increased by 100,000 jobs last year, and the vacant jobs for those in their thirties increased by 50,000. People in their twenties and younger saw an additional 10,000 jobs in 2022.