Jobless rate hits 6-year low in September, job additions largest in 5 yrs

Published : Oct 16, 2019 - 09:43 Updated : Oct 16, 2019 - 09:43

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in September and there were more new jobs added than at any time in the past five years, government data showed Wednesday.

The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3.1 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the lowest level for any September since 2013, Statistics Korea said in a statement.

In particular, the unemployment rate for young adults -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- declined to 7.3 percent last month from 8.8 percent a year earlier, it said.

(Yonhap)

The number of unemployed people stood at 884,000 last month, down 140,000 from a year ago, the statement said.

In contrast, the number of employed people rose 348,000 to 27.4 million in September compared to a year ago. The number of new jobs is the largest since 2014, when the number jumped by 512,000, the statistics agency said.

By industry, the health and social welfare sectors added 170,000 jobs, and the science, technology and service sectors generated a combined 83,000 jobs last month. But the wholesale and retail sector suffered a decline in job offerings by losing 64,000 jobs. (Yonhap)