South Korea Reports Continued Growth in Employment

(MENAFN) South Korea's employment figures climbed for the eighth month in a row, fueled by an increase in jobs for older workers, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

The nation's workforce, comprising individuals aged 15 and older, grew by 166,000, or 0.6%, from the previous year, reaching a total of 28,967,000 in August. Although employment continued its upward trajectory since January, the latest growth rate was slower than the 171,000 increase seen in July.

The overall rise in employment was largely attributed to a surge in elderly workers. Jobs for people aged 60 and above increased by 401,000 in August, while those in their 30s saw an addition of 96,000 jobs.

However, youth employment took a hit, with the number of jobs for those aged 15-29 dropping by 219,000. Employment in the 40s and 50s age groups also saw declines of 73,000 and 38,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector reported a loss of 61,000 jobs in August compared to the same month last year, marking the 14th consecutive month of decline in the sector. The construction industry experienced a similarly negative trend, shedding 132,000 jobs for the 16th straight month.

In contrast, sectors like health and social welfare services, education, and real estate posted gains. The number of jobs in these industries increased by 304,000, 48,000, and 40,000, respectively.

The number of regular employees rose by 348,000, though irregular workers and daily laborers saw declines of 12,000 and 67,000, respectively. The self-employed also faced setbacks, with the number of those hiring employees dropping by 5,000, and those without employees shrinking by 65,000.

On the employment rate front, the proportion of people aged 15 and older with jobs edged up by 0.1 percentage points, reaching 63.3% in August. The OECD method employment rate for individuals aged 15-64 also rose by 0.1 percentage points to 69.9%.

Unemployment figures for August stood at 592,000, an increase of 28,000 from a year earlier. The national unemployment rate inched up by 0.1 percentage points, now standing at 2.0%. The broader, expanded jobless rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 8.2%, while the unemployment rate among 15-29-year-olds climbed 0.6 percentage points to 15.3%.

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