The number of men who took care of children or household chores spiked 30 percent in January from a year earlier as the pandemic created a vacuum in childcare and many were forced out of work. 

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, of the economically inactive population, men who took on caregiving or household duties totaled 194-thousand in January, up 44-thousand the same month last year. 

Of them, 11-thousand said they took on childcare, while 183-thousand said they took over household work. 

The number of men taking up domestic roles increased for all age groups from 20s to 60s, but climbed the most in the 30s. 

An official at Statistics Korea said while she could not pinpoint a precise cause for the uptick, it seems the number of men who took on caregiving and household duties increased as the prolonged pandemic pushed both men and women out of work. 

Proportionally, however, men only accounted for three percent of the economically inactive population who focused on caregiving and household work in January.