Job seekers take a look at the floor plan of a recruitment event held in Seoul on July 15, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEJONG, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The employment rate for nine minor cities in South Korea fell in the first half of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic hit job markets, data showed Tuesday.
The employment rate for the nine cities, including Jeonju, Osan, Yangsan and Chuncheon, stood at 58.3 percent in the first half, down 2 percentage points from a year ago, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The employment rate for nine counties, including Inje of Gangwon Province and Shinan of South Jeolla Province, also declined 0.9 percentage point to 65.9 percent in the first half, the data showed.
The jobless rate in the cities of Osan in Gyeonggi Province and Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province stood at 5.4 percent in the first half, marking the highest level among the nine cities.
Statistics Korea said the jobless rate in the two cities was high because they were mostly formed for residence.
In July, the employment rate for those aged between 15 and 64 in South Korea reached 66 percent, down 1.1 percentage point on-year.
South Korea lost about 277,000 jobs in July, marking a decline in the number of the employed for a fifth consecutive month, as the new coronavirus pandemic strained business activities.
The country’s jobless rate rose by 0.1 percentage point on-year to 4 percent in July, with the number of employed people falling to 27.1 million, Statistics Korea said earlier.
(Yonhap)
