The number of elderly workers over 60 surpassed the number of young employees in the second quarter.
 
According to data by Statistics Korea on Friday, the number of elderly workers in the country marked four-point-24 million in the second quarter, compared to four-point-03 million young workers aged between 15 and 29.
 
An official explained that the country's elderly population surpassed the youth population for the first time in the fourth quarter 2015 and the gap is widening, which is the key factor in the shift in the employment data.
 
The number of elderly workers topped that of young workers for the first time in the third quarter last year, but young workers surpassed that of elderly workers in the first quarter this year. However, the figures turned again in the second quarter.