SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- South Korea has nearly 10 million female workers, comprising a record-high 42 percent of the workforce, national statistics show.
The National Statistical Office said that the number of female workers in September stood at 9.7 million, up 1.5 percent from a year ago, while the number of male workers reached 13.3 million, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier. Overall employment grew 1 percent from the previous year to 23 million, the Korea Times reported Monday.
"Female workers actively participating in the economy indicate that the nation is shifting from its traditional Confucian and male-dominated workforce," an official said.
At the same time, the number of female workers accounted for more than half of workers between the ages of 15 and 29.
Officials attributed the increase in women's economic activities to higher education, a low birth rate and changes in the public perception of female employees.
Out of 4.3 million workers in the 19-29 age bracket, 2.3 million, or 53.3 percent, were females, showing a steady increase since 2001, when the number of women workers in that group exceeded that of men for the first time.
