A Study on the Working Poor among Korean Echo Boomers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the current status of the working poor and the factors that are influential to the working poor among echo boomers. This study is a secondary analysis using the data from the 7th analysis of the 2012 Korea Welfare Panel Survey, conducted by Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. This analysis considered Korean echo boomers born between 1979 and 1985. In our final analysis, we used 1,226 echo boomers who had the ability to work. For the analysis, the SAS/PC statistical program ver. 9.3 was utilized.The research findings are as follows; Firstly, of the working poor among the echo boomers, only 22% were in the state of poverty. Secondly, more echo boomers living in a metropolitan city, city, gun/urban-rural area and district than those in the Seoul were categorized as among the working poor; the same was true for those who lived in a free house than in a leased room or a room that was rented by the month. Thirdly, more echo boomers whose education level was high school graduate or less rather than college graduate or less or university graduate or more were categorized as among the working poor; this was also true for echo boomers whose employment type was temporary employment, self-employment, or unemployment rather than a full-time job. Keywordsecho boomers, working poor, human capital factors, labor market factors Family and Environment Research 88