Nearly 6 out of 10 new temporary workers in South Korea are women aged 55 and older, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.

The report also showed that the number of South Korean female temporary workers above the age of 55 has increased by 14.4 percent from last year.

This seems to be mainly due to the growing need to accumulate retirement savings, and also because more parents are supporting children who are struggling to find a job amid the sluggish job market conditions, the government report said.

The snowballing demand for care workers and those capable of simple labor was cited as another reason for the increase in female temp workers who are past middle age.