영유아 가구 양육비용 및 육아서비스 이용 실태 조사: KICCE 소비실태조사 2024

Abstract

‘KICCE Spending Survey’ is a statistical survey of households with young children, focusing on their financial status and spending, as well as use of childcare services. It has been conducted annually from 2018 to 2024, during which a total of 7 annual waves worth of data has been compiled. The research program for 2024 mainly consists of implementing the ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2024’ study and analyses utilizing the data that has been compiled from 2018 to 2023. In the ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2024’, the main ongoing survey has been supplemented with a booster sample of 160 households with young children residing in rural and agricultural areas. Furthermore, analyses of the 2018~2023 data consists of basic analysis focusing on the time-series evolution of key indices and in-depth analyses. The 2024 study includes two in-depth analyses: a comparison of spending practices between household with young children and that of childless households, and an analysis of the efficacy of parental allowance.

1. Overview of the KICCE Spending Survey_2024 -The ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2024’ consists of the main survey administered to a total of 1,822 households and a supplemental study of a booster sample of 160 households with young children residing in rural and agricultural areas. ∙Compared to the 2018 study, the main survey sample grew by 174 households. -The total number of young children who responded to the main survey of the 2024 study was 2,450.

2. Key Findings from the KICCE Spending Survey(2018∼2023) Data 1) Childcare Costs -The per-child monthly average child-rearing costs (nominal terms) among households with young children in 2023 was 1,354,000 KRW, a sharp increase from 1,273,000 KRW in 2022. ∙During 2018∼2022, the per-child average child-rearing costs (nominal terms) started at 659,000 KRW in the 1st wave (2018), decreasing to 610,000 KRW in the 3rd wave (2020), but then rose sharply to 807,000 KRW in the 6th wave (2023).

2) Use of Childcare Services -Take-up rates for childcare centers dropped slightly from 51.1% in 2018 to 50.0% in 2023. Over the same period, use of kindergartens also fell slightly from 27.7% to 27.0%. ∙On the other hand, use of facilities offering half-day or longer programs rose sharply to 27.6% in 2020, during the early phase of the COVID19 pandemic, gradually returning to previous levels thereafter. ∙That said, for 2022 and 2023 we observed an upward tendency for the non-use of facilities offering half-day or longer programs compared to 2021. This appears to be attributable to the introduction of the child allowance in 2022 and of the parental allowance in 2023. ∙In 2023, the daily average hours of usage for half-day or longer facilities were 7.1 for childcare centers and kindergartens, and 6.1 hours for half-day or longer study centers. ∙Looking at the monthly average cost spent on half-day or longer facilities, for childcare centers the figure started at 66,000 KRW in the 1st wave (2018). After some fluctuations over the years, it stood at 76,000 KRW in the 6th wave (2023) -Looking at the usage of part-time education, use of short-term study centers started at 15.5% in the 1st wave (2018) and rose to 23.1% by the 6th wave (2023). ∙In the case of in-person workbooks and in-person activities, usage fluctuated from the 1st wave (2018) to the 4th wave (2021) around the 12% ~ 15% range. ∙In 2023, usage of culture centers stood at 10.4%, usage of non-visit type workbooks, online education, and non-visit type activities stood at 3.9%. Also, reported usage of online educational content was 3.2%. ∙Respondents who reported zero use of part-time education accounted for 59.3%. ∙Looking at the part-time education used by young children in 2023 by type, usage of short-term study centers consisted mainly of physical education (62.3%) and art (34.9%). Usage of in-person workbooks consisted mainly of Korean language (41.7%) and math / science (31.9%). ∙Looking at the monthly average costs spent on part-time education, costs for short-term study centers started at 134,000 KRW in the 1st wave (2018), rising to 197,000 KRW by the 6th wave (2023). -Costs spent on part-time temporary care started at 1.9% in the 1st wave (2018), followed by 0.8% in the 2nd wave (2019), fluctuating under the 2% range until the 6th wave (2023). ∙Usage of kids cafés was relatively high, at 66.7% in the 1st wave (2018) and 57.7% in the 2nd wave (2019), dropping dramatically to 14.7% in the 3rd wave (2020) due to the pandemic. By the 6th wave (2023) it hard recovered to 55.2%. ∙Take-up of non-periodic experiential activities in 2023 was 19.1%, and average monthly incidence was 2.6 sessions. The average session lasted 2.3 hours and the monthly average costs spent was 23,000 KRW. -Looking at the providers of individual care services, grandparents represented the majority at 67.3% in 2023. ∙Looking at the weekly average hours of individual care service usage, usage of MOGEF-provided caregivers dropped from the 3rd wave (2020) to the 5th wave (2022), then more than doubling to 32.4 hours in the 6th wave (2023). ∙The monthly average cost for individual care services was dominated every year by private caregiver services, albeit the figure has steadily declined from 817,000 KRW in the 2nd wave (2019) to 528,000 KRW in the 6th wave (2023). -Looking at the daily average number of hours spent on in-home childrearing, the figure was around 8 hours on weekdays and 13 hours on weekends. ∙Time spent by young children on media use decreased slightly in 2023 compared to the previous year, standing at 1.16 hours on weekdays and 1.78 hours on weekends. ∙As of 2023, usage of toy rental services was 8.9% and book rental was 18.1%, both up from last year. -As of 2023, take-up of parental training was 14.7%, with parental counseling and childrearing mentorship accounting for 21.3% and less than 1.0% respectively. ∙Parental training services mainly involved childrearing methods, while information regarding the growth and development of young children dominated in the cases of parental counseling and childrearing mentorship.

3) Views Regarding Policies Addressing Low Fertility -Among households with young children, respondents felt that the areas needing the most improvement were the following with regards to policies addressing low fertility rates: family leave / days off (53.6%), shorter work hours during childrearing (46.5%), and parental leave (46.4%). ∙Regarding ways of improving family care leave / days off, both households with young children and expectant households felt the need (exceeding 50%) for improvements in 'greater number of available days / time of leave / days off'. ∙Regarding ways of improving parental leave, both households with young children (52.0%) and expectant households (65.4%) prioritized 'greater cost support (higher income replacement)'. ∙Regarding ways of improving shorter work hours during childrearing, respondents prioritized '(government-enforced) mandatory use of available schemes' (50%). ∙Regarding ways of improving maternal leave, both households with young children and expectant households prioritized 'greater cost support (higher income replacement)' and 'greater number of available days / time of leave / days off', with both items accounting for about 50%. ∙Regarding ways of improving flexible work arrangements, more than 50% of respondents prioritized '(government-enforced) mandatory use of available schemes'. -Regarding the statement, "Households with children should own their own house", the degree of agreement was as follows: households with young children (3.3), expectant households (3.2), and childless households (3.1). ∙Comparing the score among households with young children to responses from 2018, there has been a slight increase from 3.1 to 3.3. ∙When asked about residential factors beneficial for childrearing, all household types (with young children, expectant, and childless) prioritized 'areas considered safe (free of harmful facilities, low crime rate, etc.)', with all responses exceeding 30%. -When asked about which policies the government should prioritize to aid childbirth and childrearing, expectant and childless households considered 'longer maternal and parental leave', 'cost support (childrearing costs, educational costs, parental allowance, etc.), and 'flexible work hours for childrearing parents' to be the most important, with responses ranging between the 40~50% interval. -Households with young children had overall higher levels of life satisfaction compared to expectant and childless households, with higher satisfaction across facets such as financial situation, residential environs, family relationships, childrearing, social / amicable relationships, self-realization, and overall life satisfaction. ∙That said, childless households scored higher in the case of satisfaction with leisure activities.

3. In-depth Analyses Findings 1) Comparison of Spending between Households with and without Young Children -Data used in this analysis consisted of microdata from the main survey (households with young children) and childless households of the booster sample of the ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2023’. -As of 2023, the average monthly living expenditures among households with young children was 3,775,000 KRW, some 225,000 KRW higher than that among childless households (3,550,000 KRW). ∙Looking at the distributions of the total living expenditures, that of childless households is slightly left-skewed with a long right-side tail. In contrast, the distribution for households with young children more closely resembles the normal distribution. -Across both types of households, the common significant factor behind spending was household income. ∙Even when various sub-items of expenditure among adult household members was set as the dependent variable, only household income was consistently significant across all sub-items. ∙Looking at estimates by sub-item, sub-items affected by the existence of children included spending on leisure, cultural activities and items, suggesting that adults in households with young children faced higher constraints compared to those in childless households. -Looking at the factors influencing 'expected childcare costs by child's age' among both households with and without children, we found that household income was uniformly significant across all scenarios, as was the case for spending among adult household members. ∙Among childless households, the expected childcare costs for various stages differed significantly at the 10% level, suggesting a somewhat low degree of significance. ∙Looking at whether childbirth plans systematically affected the expected childcare costs among childless households, childbirth plans were not found to have any significant impact on expectations. ∙Employing a logit model to ascertain whether expected childcare costs affected childbirth plans, none of the expected costs (at any age interval) were found to induce significant differences. ∙This is attributable to a tendency among childless households to overestimate childcare costs compared to actual costs or expectations held by households with young children. It is not that the psychological burden concerning childcare costs has zero effect on childbirth plans; it is that childless households generally expected childcare costs to be higher, thus leading them to postpone or give up on childbirth plans.

2) The Effect of Parental Allowance on Childcare Costs and Choice of Services -2023 saw the introduction of the parental allowance scheme, aimed at alleviating the burden of childcare costs and focusing support to the earliest infancy stages. The program was subsequently boosted in 2024. ∙Data used in this analysis consisted of the main survey (households with young children) of the ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2023’, for children born between 2021 ~ 2023. -Across all subjects analyzed, significant factors affecting the choice of in-cash payment included the number of income earners, household income, size of city of residence, and child's age in months. -Looking only at children born in 2022 and later to ascertain factors affecting the preferred type of parental allowance, we found that the likelihood of choosing newborn parents' allowance (cash) was negatively associated with the child's age in months. -Looking at how take-up of parental allowance affected childcare costs per child, we found that significant factors included the number of income earners, household income, total number of household members, parents' education level, and the child's age in months. -Repeating the analysis with various childcare cost sub-items as the dependent variable, we found that food costs were significantly positively associated with newborn parents' allowance (cash), parents' allowance (cash) for 1-year olds, parents' allowance (voucher) for 1-year olds. ∙Equipment/supply costs were found to be significantly negatively associated with take-up of parents' allowance (voucher) for 1-year olds. Compared to recipients of other types of the allowance, clothing costs were significantly higher among recipients of support for childcare center costs for children aged 0 to 1. ∙Personal maintenance costs (diapers, bathing goods, haircut fees, etc.) were significantly higher, at the 10% level, among recipients of newborn parents' allowance (cash), parents' allowance (cash + voucher), and parents' allowance (voucher) for 1-year olds. ∙The type of parental allowance was found to have no significant effect on health / medical costs, education and childcare costs, leisure and culture costs, communication costs, and insurance costs.

Drawing on the above findings, in this study we proposed the following measures for policy improvement. -Support Policies for Alleviating Childcare Cost Burdens ∙Need for price administration targeting essential childcare goods ∙Strengthening support for after-school programs, for alleviating private education cost burdens -Revising cost support systems with a focus on guaranteeing children's rights ∙Including family care allowance as a part of child allowance, introduction of a 'child allowance plus' scheme that accounts for costs per child, broadening the range of ages eligible for child allowance support ∙Revising cost support systems and ensuring operational time in step with the integration of education / childcare systems for young children -Expanding Support Schemes for Childrearing Time ∙Improvement measures for expanding access to flexible work arrangements ∙Expanding support for childrearing time-related programs by encouraging businesses to participate -Strengthening the actual efficacy of measures for addressing low fertility rates ∙Strengthening the actual efficacy of housing support measures ∙Discovering support measures for encouraging childless households' childbirth plans