South Korea: the labor market recovered last August

Economic data released on Wednesday showed that South Korea’s labor market rebounded last month after slowing for the fourth month in a row, but growth was mostly driven by the elderly.

The number of employed in the country reached 28.67 million workers last August, an increase of about 268 thousand from the same month of the previous year, according to data compiled by the Korea Statistics Administration.

In July, the country added 211 thousand jobs on an annual basis as the lowest in 29 months. Monthly job additions slowed from April to July, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

The unemployment rate in South Korea over the past month reached 2% last month, while the number of unemployed over the past month reached 573 thousand, down 41 thousand on an annual basis, reaching a new low.

The number of jobs for those in their twenties fell by 91 thousand, reflecting the challenging labor market for the younger generations.

According to the sector, the number of new jobs in the healthcare and social care business increased by 138 thousand year-on-year, the number in the catering and accommodation services business increased by 121 thousand as more people returned to normal life before the corona pandemic, while the science and technology industry added 57 thousand jobs.