More and more young adults are dependent on their parents as jobs grow scarce, a trend that is especially common among the children of the highly educated, according to a study.

Statistics Korea last week said 34.2 percent of parents over 60 who live with their children said they do so because their children are unable to support themselves, while 29.3 percent said they themselves are unable to live without the assistance of their offspring.

It is the first time that the first group outnumbers the second. In 2009, when the survey was first conducted, the proportions were a reverse 24.8 percent and 35.4 percent.

The more educated the parents, the more likely their grown children are to live with them. Among parents with elementary education or below who live with their children, only 26.5 percent said they do so because their children are unable to support themselves. But among parents with university or higher levels of education the figure is 45.8 percent.

It is becoming common for adults to live with parents in their 60s. The proportion of parents in that age group living with their children rose from 38.4 percent in 2009 to 41.6 percent this year. The proportion of parents who do so because their children cannot support themselves rose from 30.6 percent six years ago to 45.1 percent.

When it comes to sources of income, the proportion of senior citizens who make their own money or depend on only their spouses rose from 60 to 67 percent over the same period, while the proportion of those who depend on their children fell from 31 percent to 23 percent.