S. Korea's jobless rate dips to 3.2 pct in September

South Korea's jobless rate fell in September as more people were hired in the manufacturing, business support services and hospitality sectors, a government report showed Wednesday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, down from 3.4 percent in August.

The number remained unchanged from a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate for September was 3.5 percent, also down from the 3.6 percent tallied for the previous month.

"Manufacturing, information technology, business support services and hospitality led job growth last month, offsetting losses in agrofisheries, and the wholesale and retail areas," said Sim Won-bo, head of the agency's employment statistics division.

The number of newly created jobs rose to 347,000 last month from 256,000 new positions in August, marking the largest figure since the 379,000 in May.

The manufacturing sector created 166,000 jobs, with the business support services and hospitality industries adding 116,000 and 81,000 jobs, respectively. Jobs in the IT sector rose 79,000 last month, compared to just 8,000 a year earlier.

Agrofisheries lost 120,000 jobs with wholesale and retail backtracking 46,000 on-year.

The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 came to 7.9 percent in September, down from 8 percent a month earlier and the lowest level since November of last year.

"There was an increase of some 90,000 jobs for people in their 20s that reduced the jobless rate for young people," Sim said.

The employment rate for people between 15 and 64 stood at 66.1 percent last month, up from 65.9 percent the month before, although lower than the record high of 66.3 percent tallied for July.

The so-called labor underutilization indicator fell to 10.8 percent last month from 11.5 percent the month before, according to the report.

The indicator is based on guidelines made by the International Labor Organization and reflects the number of people who are underemployed and those who currently hold part-time jobs but want full-time work. It also counts unemployed people who have given up looking for work not by choice but due to other circumstances.

The finance ministry said the rise in industrial output and consumer spending helped lower the country's jobless rate and pushed up overall employment.

"September marked the fourth month in a row that employment has risen compared to the previous month," it said. "Jobs in the manufacturing sector jumped more than 100,000 for the 17th straight month."

The ministry said with the timely injection of funds from the extra budget into the local economy and with other economic stimulus programs gaining momentum, the overall job market should see steady improvements for the time being. (Yonhap)