People look at a bulletin board at a job fair in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on May 23, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEJONG, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea added 491,000 jobs for wage workers in the fourth quarter of 2022, data showed Friday, led by the construction and manufacturing sectors.
The number of paying jobs came to 20.45 million in the October-December period, up from 19.96 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The quarterly report was based on figures from November.
By sector, jobs in the construction industry moved up 121,000 on-year, with those in the manufacturing and welfare segments rising 72,000 and 78,000, respectively.
The number of positions in the restaurant and accommodation sector also moved up 54,000 over the period, the data showed.
Out of all the existing jobs for wage workers, 69.3 percent were retained by the same workers as the previous year, while 17.4 percent were replaced. Additionally, 2.7 million jobs, accounting for 13.3 percent, were newly created, while 2.2 million positions disappeared.
By gender, the number of jobs for men rose by 232,000, and that of women gained 260,000.
By age, the number of such jobs for those in their 20s fell 36,000, while the figure shot up by 147,000 for 50-something South Koreans. Positions for people aged 60 and above also moved up 284,000.
According to a separate report released by the agency earlier this month, South Korea’s job additions slowed in April after a brief rebound a month earlier, amid higher borrowing costs and an economic slowdown, with most new positions taken by seniors.
The number of employed people came to 29.23 million in April, up around 354,000 from a year earlier. The additions were mostly led by those aged 60 and above, with the number of positions rising 442,000 in the age group.
Excluding the seniors, the country’s new job positions moved down 88,000 in the month.
(Yonhap)
