The employment rate among women in their 20s exceeded that of men in the same age group for the fourth year in a row last year, widening the gap between genders in the South Korean job market, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

The percentage of working women in their 20s was 57.8 percent in 2013, as opposed to 55.7 percent among men. The gap has been on the rise since the employment rate of young women first surpassed that of their male counterparts by 0.1 percentage point. The figure edged up 0.4 percentage point in 2011 and reached 1.5 percentage points in 2012.

The employment rate measures the proportion of people aged between 15 and 64 who are in work.

Last year, the number of economically active women reached 62 percent, 0.8 percentage point higher than that of men at 61.2 percent.

The increase in the number of women who hold a college-level degree or higher and work is cited as the reason for the change in the job market. 

By Suh Ye-seul
(sys@heraldcorp.com)