An official from Statistics Korea holds a briefing on South Korea’s monthly job data in the central city of Sejong on Aug. 9, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s on-year job growth slowed for the fourth consecutive month in July, with the fewest number of jobs being added in 29 months, data showed Wednesday, amid sluggish employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
The number of employed people came to 28.68 million in July, up around 211,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Last month, the country’s jobless rate came to 2.7 percent, down 0.2 percentage point over the period, the lowest since 1999 for the same month.
South Korea’s on-year job additions slowed for nine consecutive months through February before rebounding in March, when they rose 469,000 on-year. The growth, however, has continued to slow since April.
Positions for those aged 60 and above rose 298,000, with those for people in their 50s increasing 61,000.
The number of jobs for people in their 20s and 40s, on the other hand, dropped 128,000 and 61,000 over the period, respectively.
By sector, the number of jobs in the welfare and social service segment moved up 145,000, and those in the accommodation and restaurant sector advanced 125,000 as more people returned to pre-pandemic normalcy.
Those employed in the science and technology segment also moved up 62,000 over the period.
The number of jobs in the retail and wholesale industry, however, fell 55,000, with those in the construction segment also decreasing 43,000 amid the economic slowdown.
The manufacturing sector’s positions fell 35,000, marking seven consecutive months of decline.
The agricultural industry saw the number of positions decline 42,000.
“The number of jobs continued to rise overall due to the rising demand for caretaking services and increasing outdoor activities,” an agency official said.
“Heavy rains and the (sluggish) construction industry, however, led to the lower growth compared to the previous month.”
This file photo taken July 3, 2023, shows an interviewee holding a resume at a job fair in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)
Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio of South Koreans aged 15-64 edged up 0.5 percentage point to 69.6 percent, the highest for the same month since 1989.
The finance ministry recently estimated the number of employed people to rise by 320,000 on-year each month in 2023, significantly up from the previous estimate of 100,000.
In July, the Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the fourth straight time. Prior to that, the central bank delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023.
A hike in borrowing costs typically hampers employment as businesses and households cut their spending.
In a separate report, the finance ministry said South Korea is expected to maintain stable jobs data down the road on the back of the service and health care sectors.
“However, the margin of growth is expected to slow down the road following the sluggish performance of construction and manufacturing sectors,” the finance ministry said.
The ministry pointed out harsh weather conditions in August, such as the heat wave and typhoons, are set to weigh down the employment in the agricultural industry.
(Yonhap)
