The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday that the ratio of female and senior members of the workforce would sharply increase in the coming decade.

In its outlook on changes in the workforce structure for the 2013-2023 period, the ministry said women’s participation rate in economic activities is projected to increase by 6 percentage points, which will surpass the estimated 4.1 percentage points for men.

The report said that 56.2 percent of working-age women will likely participate in economic activities in 2023, up 6 percentage points from 50.2 percent in 2013.

In addition, the proportion of those aged 55 or older who participate in economic activities is estimated to increase by 7.9 percentage points to 55.4 percent over the same period, as the population of economically active youth and middle-aged people will likely decline due to the nation’s low birthrate, according to the report.

It also said the total number of people employed is projected to rise by 3.22 million while the employment rate of people aged 16-64 will rise to 71.8 percent in 2023.

By sector, the numbers of jobs in social welfare services, business-support services and health-care services is forecast to surge, while jobs in agriculture, education and finance will decline.

The report also predicted that the nation will suffer from a shortage of manpower, as the demand for fresh manpower will exceed supply during the 10-year period.

Citing the outlook, the ministry raised the necessity of efficiently using manpower to cope with a slowdown in population growth in the coming years.

South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, has been gripped by a persistently falling birthrate. Last year, the country’s birthrate ― the number of children that a woman is expected to have throughout her lifetime ― stood at 1.187, down 0.11 from the previous year.

By Kim Yon-se and news reports (kys@heraldcorp.com)