KBS News

[앵커]

As the youth population is decreasing and the elderly population is increasing, there are voices saying that it is difficult to see young people in the industrial field.

There are concerns that if this phenomenon continues, the industry may be shaken completely.

We will tell you in friendly news which industries are greatly affected by population changes and how serious the situation is.

This is reporter Kim Se-hee.

[리포트]

“People in their 30s are disappearing”

This is the reality of industrial sites taking a hit as the productive population decreases due to low birth rates and aging.

The problem is particularly serious in the construction, manufacturing, and health and welfare service industries.

These industries are facing a so-called ‘talent cliff’ where their young workforce is rapidly declining.

If we divide actual workers in the health service industry by age, as of last year, 33%, or 1 in 3 people, were in their 60s or older.

It has tripled in just 10 years.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people in their 30s has decreased significantly, and now the proportion of people in their 60s is larger than those in their 30s.

We need people to work, but young people aren’t coming.

Four coworkers with an average age of 68.

At the nursing home where they work, they are told that they are young even when they are over 60 years old.

The youngest is 43 years old.

[이영숙/요양보호사/64살 : “저도 나이가 있어서 (늦게) 온 줄 알았는데, 더 (나이) 있는 분들이 계시니까. 70살까지는 해도 되지 않나 싶기도 하고….”]

In the construction and textile manufacturing industries, the proportion of people in their 60s has doubled and the proportion of people in their 30s has decreased over the past 10 years.

The average age of the shoe manufacturer’s 12 employees is in their mid-60s.

[김선섭/신발 제조업체 근로자/63살 : “30대들도 채용을 했었지. 했었는데, 1년 있다가 다 그만두더라고. 안 맞는대. 힘들고 여건이.”]

[안○○/신발 제조업체 운영/음성변조 : “(한국 공장은) 자연적으로 소멸이 될 거 같아요. 동남아시아에 위탁 생산을 요청하는 방법밖에 없을 거 같아요.”]

These changes are expected to spread across the health service industry, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail industries in the future, resulting in a workforce shortage of about 400,000 in these industries by 2032.

What is the situation in the IT industry favored by young people?

Although it seems to be better than the manufacturing industry, experts have given a gloomy outlook.

There are concerns about a ‘deterioration in the quality of the workforce’ that is more serious than that of the manufacturing industry.

The average age of workers in the domestic information and communications industry is 36.7 years, the youngest among all industries.

Innovative ideas originating from these youth are also the driving force behind the industry.

However, the number of young people is rapidly decreasing.

The population in their 20s, which was around 6.7 million, will decrease by more than 1 million in 2027 and reach 5.15 million in 2030.

Beyond simply reducing numbers, there are concerns that competition will become lax and the quality of manpower will decline.

[한요셉/KDI 노동시장연구팀장 : “질적으로 좀 하락할 우려가 있는 것이 사실이고요. 지금만큼 경쟁을 통해서 이제 계속 (성장)하지 못할 가능성이 있고.”]

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade predicted that the industries most likely to pose problems for labor supply and demand in the future economy will be high value-added industries.

[이철희/서울대 경제학과 교수 : “젊은 사람이 줄 때, 젊은 사람이 꼭 필요한 업종으로 인력이 재배분될 수 있도록 우리 사회가 많이 변해야 되는데요. 우선 교육이 많이 바뀌어야 할 거 같습니다. 지금 노동 시장에서 꼭 필요로 하는 인력을 길러내서 내보내야 하기 때문에.”]

Dangerous signs that the industry will be shaken by a manpower cliff are being detected everywhere.

There are only four years left until 2028 when the number of employed people will begin to decline due to a shortage of manpower.

This is Sehee Kim from KBS News.

Video editing: Kang Ji-eun / Graphics: Min Se-hong