KICCE 소비실태조사: 양육비용 및 육아서비스 수요 연구(Ⅳ)

Abstract

This study represents the 4th wave of the KICCE Spending Survey, which is being conducted over a period of 5 consecutive years. Here, we have collected information on the childrearing costs and usage of childcare services among childrearing households, with a view to informing policies that can help alleviate the cost burden associated with such spending. To this end, the 'KICCE Spending Survey' is conducted annually to inform support policies directed at childrearing households. In particular, for the 2021 (4th wave) study we have focused on the impact of the COVID19 pandemic with regards to childrearing costs and the use of childcare services. Due to the current situation, childrearing households may have been presented with the double challenge of maintaining their jobs and income in the face of socioeconomic risk, while at the same time shielding their children against the new health risk. Low income households are particularly exposed to risks associated with job loss, income loss, and blindspots in terms of access to childcare. This has raised concerns that the pandemic might lead to an exacerbation of socioeconomic polarization. Due to the broad range and amplitude of the topics covered by this study, for the sake of convenience we have organized the key findings into the following sections: 1. Overview of the KICCE Spending Survey 4th Wave, 2. Childcare Cost Expenditure among Childrearing Households, 3. Use of Childcare Services and Policy Demands among Childrearing Households, and 4. An In-Depth Analysis regarding Changes in Childcare Costs during the Early Stages of the Pandemic and the Effects of Public Assistance.

1. Overview of the KICCE Spending Survey 4th Wave - The total sample of the 4th wave included 1,933 households, equivalent to a retention rate of 87.1% ∙ Out of the 1,679 sample households, 1,463 were successfully contacted. 216 Households were replaced by new households ∙ As with the previous wave, a total of 254 households were newly included as part of the newborn sample ∙ A total of 2,832 children (including 2,401 infants) responded to the Children's Survey - Among households with young children, average monthly household income for the 4th wave (2021) was 4,856,000 KRW, down from the 3rd wave (2020) at 5,023,000 KRW but up from the 2nd wave (2019)

2. Childcare Cost Expenditure among Childrearing Households - Among households with young children, the average monthly expenditure on living expenses for the 4th wave (2021) was 2,874,000 KRW, up 112,000 KRW from the previous year and also higher than the figure for the 2nd wave (2019) ∙ Food accounted for the largest share of living expenses. The 3rd wave (2020), which corresponds to the early stage of the pandemic, saw large increases in food expenditure. The figure for the 4th wave (2021), while slightly lower than the previous wave, remained at largely similar levels ∙ Engel coefficient: 28.5 as of the 4th wave (2021), which is down from the 3rd wave (2020) but up from the 2nd wave ∙ Schwabe index: 8.1 as of the 4th wave, exhibiting little variation ∙ Angel coefficient: 26.8 as of the 4th wave (2021), at largely similar levels compared to the 3rd wave - Total average monthly childcare costs for the 4th wave (2021) stood at 1,196,000 KRW, the highest figure recorded since the study's inception in 2018. - The average monthly childcare costs per young child for the 4th wave (2021) was 612,000 KRW, up 29,000 KRW from the 3rd wave (2020) but down 18,000 KRW from the 2nd wave (2019) ∙ The childcare costs per young child as a share of living expenditures stood at 19.1% in the 4th wave (2021), up from the 3rd wave but down from the 2nd wave - The average monthly childcare costs per elementary schooler as of the 4th wave (2021) was 799,000 KRW ∙ This is 187,000 KRW higher compared to childcare costs per young child (612,000 KRW) and 63,000 KRW higher compared to costs per each 6-year old (736,000 KRW)

3. Use of Childcare Services by Childrearing Households & Policy Demands - Use of Childcare Services by Households with Young Children ∙ Facilities offering half-day or longer programs ･ Share by type: As of the 4th wave (2021), 50.4% of the 2,371 young children had made use of childcare centers, followed by 28.8% in kindergartens and 1.3% in study centers offering half-day or longer programs. In all, 80.5% of the young children made use of facilities offering half-day or longer programs ･ Use time: As of the 4th wave, the time spent per type of facility was 35.0 hours for childcare centers, 34.5 hours for kindergartens, and 29.5 hours for study centers offering half-day or longer programs ･ Cost of use: As of the 4th wave, the average monthly fees paid to each type of facility was 66,000 KRW for childcare centers, 132,000 KRW for kindergartens, and 856,000 KRW for study centers offering half-day or longer programs ･ Satisfaction with service: As of the 4th wave, all types of childcare facility had a satisfaction score of 4.0 (5.0 being the highest) ･ Online classes: 2.6% of the users of childcare centers reported having used online classes, with the figures being 5.8% for kindergartens and 6.9% for study centers offering half-day or longer programs ∙ Part-time Private Education ･ Share by type: As of the 4th wave, the most frequently reported type of facility used was short-term study centers (21.3%), followed by in-person workbooks (15.0%), culture centers (5.7%), non-visit workbooks and activities (2.1%), and individual / group tutoring (1.4%) ･ Use time: Children spent an average of 4.2 hours a week at short-term study centers. This was the most prevalent type of part-time private education service used among young children ･ Cost of use: The type of part-time private education that incurred the highest average monthly costs was 'individual / group tutoring', which stood at 198,000 KRW ･ Satisfaction : Services that were associated with the highest satisfaction levels were 'in-person workbooks' and 'individual / group tutoring', which scored, on average, 4.1 points out of a possible 5.0 ･ Online classes at short-term study centers: About 3.0% of the children had experienced contactless (i.e., online) classes, mostly for scholastic parts of the curriculum ∙ Other Services ･ Part-time care: As of the 4th wave, 0.7% of the young children had been put in part-time care. Among this group, the average use frequency was 11.3 times per month. The average session lasted 3 hours and 48 minutes, at a monthly average cost of 30,000 KRW. ･ Kids Cafes: As of the time of interview, about 24.9% of respondents reported having used kids cafes during the past 3 months. While this is lower than the figures for the 1st (47.2%) and 2nd (57.7%) waves, it still indicates a bounce back compared to the sharp pandemic-related decrease observed in the 3rd (14.7%) wave - Use of Childcare Services by Households with Elementary School-age Children ∙ Public facility-based services ･ Share by type: As of the 4th wave (2021), the most prevalent type of service used was elementary school care classes (23.1%), up from 16.6% in the 2nd wave (2019) ･ Usage of after-school care was 38.5% for the 4th wave, indicating a recovery following the sharp drop to 4.5% in the 3rd wave (2020) due to the early stages of the pandemic. That said, this still falls significantly short of the usage level from the 2nd wave (2019), 62.7%. ･ As of the 4th wave, local / community / neighborhood childcare centers accounted for 1.7% of usage, down from 2.6% in the 3rd wave (2020). ･ Demands regarding elementary school care classes: As of the 4th wave (2021), the most frequently voiced demand was 'diversification of programs (74.9%), followed by 'better management of schoolwork and homework (47.7%), and 'additional teachers dedicated to care work (47.1%). ･ Demands regarding after-school care: As of the 4th wave (2021), the most frequently voiced demand was 'diversification of after school programs (76.7%), followed by 'larger classes' (40.3%), 'improvements to program quality' (37.7%), and 'stronger links to schoolwork' (33.6%) ∙ Part-time Private Education ･ Use by type: As of the 4th wave, the most frequently used type of care facility was short-term study centers (84.6%), followed by in-person workbooks (26.3%), educational online contents (9.2%), individual / group tutoring (5.0%), non-visit workbooks / online classes (4.8%), culture centers (3.0%), in-person learning activities (1.9%) ･ Use time: Average weekly use time for short-term study centers was 7.3 hours, while none of the other services exceeded 2 hours of weekly use ･ Cost of use: The fees for short-term study centers has risen steadily, from 220,000 KRW in the 2nd wave (2019), 232,000 KRW in the 3rd wave (2020), to 244,000 KRW in the 4th wave (2021) ･ Satisfaction: The type of part-time private education service associated with the highest satisfaction was 'individual / group tutoring', which scored 4.0 out of 5.0 - Use of In-Home Childcare and Parental Support Services ∙ Use of Individual Care Services ･ Uptake: As with other types of care services, usage dropped during the early stage of the pandemic, from 11.8% in the 2nd wave (2019) to 9.0% in the 3rd wave (2020), thereafter recovering slightly to 12.3% in the 4th wave (2021) ･ As of the 4th wave (2021) study, the average monthly cost and weekly hours of use for each type of individual caregiver were as follows: ･ Caregivers from the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family : 17.6 hours, 201,000 KRW ･ Private caregivers : 21.0 hours, 709,000 KRW ･ Grandparents : 22.5 hours, 337,000 KRW ･ Relatives other than grandparents: 24.2 hours, 297,000 KRW ∙ In-home care by Parents ･ Parents spent an average of 8 hours per day for childcare on weekdays, and 13 hours and 6 minutes on weekends ･ Regarding the use of electronic devices (TV, PC, etc.) during in-home childcare, they were used for an average of 1 hours and 24 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours and 6 minutes on weekends ･ 5.6% of respondents reported having used toy rental services, while 15.5% reported having used book rental services ･ 9.4% of respondents reported having received assistance for childcare supplies, with the average frequency of use during the past 3 months being 3.3 times ･ Demands regarding childcare support services: The most frequently voiced demand was that for 'better accessibility to rental / service providers' (50.2%), followed by 'broader choice through diversification of supplies / programs' (35.4%), 'higher-quality supplies / programs' (33.6%), 'provision of training or training materials to help parents oversee children's activities' (26.7%), 'attention to disinfection / hygiene of supplies' (26.6%), 'enabling two-way communication regarding the utilization of supplies / programs' (18.4%), 'providing services / programs at lower cost' (5.7%) ･ Usage of parental support services: Parental training 7.4%, parental counseling 10.8%, childrearing mentorship 0.7%. ･ Demands regarding parental support services: The most frequently voiced demand was that for 'expanding the program' (30.2%), followed by 'provision of professional services' (30.0%), 'expanding one-to-one (custom) services' (29.9%), 'better accessibility to service providers' (27.6%), 'availability at more hours of the day' (26.8%), 'more efforts to raise awareness about services' (20.2%) ∙ Demands regarding childcare support services ･ Parents of young children in childcare facilities or kindergartens tend to provide in-home care themselves when they are not using half-day or longer care programs. Such parents voiced the need for part-time childcare support services ･ According to survey respondents, the area of government support that was found to be most lacking in every wave was 'insufficient childcare allowance / other cash subsidies' ･ In the event of unforeseen need for emergency care, as of the 4th wave the most opted-for means of care was 'direct care by a parent' (83.1%), followed by 'individual care by a grandparent or relative' (42.1%), and 'state-designated care facilities such as emergency care centers' (37.6%) ･ Regarding the childcare support policy that needed improvement in the face of societal crisis situations, the most frequently-requested item for both the 3rd and 4th waves was 'better support for family care leave' 4. Changes in Childcare Costs during the Early Stages of the Pandemic and the Effects of Public Assistance - In-depth analysis conducted by linking the 2nd (2019) and 3rd (2020) wave findings into panel data - Compared to the previous year, the 3rd wave data showed an overall drop in childcare costs - There is clear evidence of a time lag effect during the early stages of the pandemic with regard to total childcare costs, and this lag effect is absent only among households in the lowest income decile. ∙ This suggests that in the case of households in the lowest income decile, childcare costs determined regardless of the pandemic situation. This implies that, even prior to the pandemic, these households had little room to cut back on childcare costs. - As of the 3rd wave (2020), 7.0% of respondents reported having received COVID19-related public assistance. Only households in the highest income decile reported lower incidence of receiving assistance. - Using a panel data DID model, we found that the public assistance provided during the early stages of the pandemic had little significant effect on reducing the total childcare costs of households with young children. ∙ It should be noted that this result only covers the early stages of the pandemic, as it is based on data from the 2nd (2019) and 3rd (2020) waves.

Based on the above findings, we have proposed the following policy measures: - Strengthening the social safety net to assure an equal lifetime starting line ∙ Consideration for introducing a 'child allowance plus' program ∙ Strengthening medical support ∙ Improving the usability of sports / culture vouchers ∙ Strengthening support for the independence and childrearing of low income / single parent women - Preparing for 'Living with the Coronavirus' and future society ∙ Securing a framework for the stable implementation of public care services ∙ Strengthening support for in-home care ∙ Developing and providing public services featuring edu-tech ∙ Diversifying online support services for parents and improving their usability - Strengthening the efficacy of childcare support policies ∙ Building an integrated platform for supporting childcare-related policies and hiring relevant experts ∙ Strengthening support for the full establishment of policies in support of work-life balance ∙ Expanding the supply of short-term care and improving its usability