With troubled shipyards and related industries shedding employees, South Korea’s working population grew by the slowest pace in six years in October.
According to October employment data released by the Statistics Korea on Monday, the number of the employed stood at 12.65 million last month, up 292,000, or 2.4 percent, from the same month last year, the slowest gain since September 2010.
Jobs were added in low-paying placements at restaurants and hospitality industry, the first place jobseekers would look upon losing work. Newly-hired gained 12.0 percent on year in the sector, while the number of people with jobs in the manufacturing industry added a mere 0.2 percent on year.
Sluggish exports and ongoing restructuring in the nation’s backbone industries such as shipping and shipbuilders pressed down hard on the job market. The number of people without jobs rose by 25,000 in October from the same period last year, continuously expanding the on-year growth in number of unemployed from 12,000 in June.
By Seo Dong-cheol
[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]