S. Korea's jobless rate stands at 3.5 percent in June

South Korea's jobless rate inched down in June from a month earlier, but job creation slowed for the fourth straight month, raising concerns that employment conditions are getting tough for many job seekers, a government report showed Wednesday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, down from 3.6 percent tallied in May. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate also fell to 3.6 percent from the previous month's 3.7 percent.

The number of employed people came to 25.88 million in June, up 398,000 from a year earlier. This marked the fourth straight month that job growth has slowed since February, when the on-year increase came to 835,000, the report showed.

Manufacturing drove job creation by adding 165,000 jobs to the economy. The health and social welfare service sector also added 148,000 jobs, while the lodging and dining sector hired 129,000 more people.

The farming and fishing sector, however, employed 76,000 less people than a year earlier and the financial and insurance sector saw its payrolls shrink by 48,000 last month from a year earlier.

In particular, the arts, sports and leisure-related sector employed 8,000 less workers than a year earlier, the report showed, indicating that the impact of an April ferry disaster that left more than 300 people dead or missing is still lingering.

Employment conditions remain much tougher for younger people who try to enter the job market after graduation.

The jobless rate for young people aged 15-29 stood at 9.5 percent last month, up from the previous year's 8.7 percent. It is also higher than the 7.9 percent tallied a year earlier, the report showed.

The number of unemployed people -- those who tried but were unable to land a job -- totaled 949,000 in June, down from the previous month's 951,000, according to the report. (Yonhap)