S. Korea’s job growth continues in July as 108,000 jobs added
South Korea’s employment market continued to recover in July, with the country adding 108,000 jobs from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday. However, manufacturing employment remained under pressure, extending its decline for a 25th consecutive month, Qazinform News Agency cites Yonhap.
The number of employed people reached 29.13 million in July, up from 29.02 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Job growth remained positive for a second straight month after the number of employed people increased by 63,000 in June. That followed a decline of 40,000 in May, the first annual drop in employment in 17 months.
South Korea’s unemployment rate stood at 2.6 percent in July, up 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. The number of unemployed people rose by 50,000 to 776,000.
The employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 edged up 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to 70.3 percent.
The employment rate among those aged 15 to 29 fell 1.6 percentage points to 44.2 percent, marking its 27th consecutive month of year-on-year declines.
The number of employed people in the 15-to-29 age group dropped by 191,000, extending the decline for a 45th consecutive month. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for the age group climbed 1.3 percentage points to 6.8 percent, marking its sharpest annual increase in more than five years.
Among older workers, the employment rate for people aged 65 and above rose 0.8 percentage point to 41.5 percent.
By industry, health and social welfare services recorded the largest increase, adding 173,000 jobs from a year earlier. Employment in arts, sports and recreation-related services increased by 48,000, while public administration added 46,000 jobs.
Manufacturing, meanwhile, remained a major source of weakness in the labor market. Employment in the sector fell by 68,000 in July from a year earlier, marking the 25th consecutive month of decline.
The latest drop was nevertheless smaller than the 97,000-job decrease recorded in June, suggesting that the pace of decline in manufacturing employment may be easing.
The number of economically inactive people increased by 99,000 year-on-year to 16.1 million in July. At the same time, the number of people who reported that they were not working and were simply resting fell by 62,000 to 2.51 million.
Earlier, Qazinform reported South Korea’s exports surge 45.3% in early August on strong chip demand.