▲ This file photo, taken July 10, 2026, shows a job fair being held in Seoul. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) jobless rate-June tally

(2nd LD) S. Korea adds 63,000 jobs in June despite weak manufacturing

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By Kang Yoon-seung

SEJONG, July 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea added 63,000 jobs in June from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, marking the first rebound in two months, although manufacturing sector jobs continued to lose ground.

The number of employed people came to 29.15 million in June, compared with 29.09 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Job growth remained in the 200,000 range in February and March before slowing to 74,000 in April. It then contracted by 40,000 in May, marking the first decline in 17 months.

The country's jobless rate came to 2.8 percent last month, unchanged from a year earlier. The number of unemployed people totaled 834,000 in June, up 10,000 from a year earlier.

South Korea's employment rate for people aged 15 and older came to 63.4 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier, marking the third consecutive month of on-year decline.

The employment rate for people aged 15 to 29 came to 43.9 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.

The employment rate for South Koreans aged 15 to 64 edged down 0.1 percentage point to 70.2 percent, while that for those aged 65 and older rose 0.8 percentage point to 41.8 percent.

By sector, the number of jobs in the health and social welfare services sector increased by 214,000 from a year earlier, with positions in the arts, sports and recreation-related services sector also rising by 55,000.

Other major gainers included the transportation and logistics sector, which added 48,000 jobs.

The accommodation and restaurant sector added 10,000 jobs.

"We believe consumer sentiment has recovered to some extent following cash handouts aimed at easing the burden of high fuel costs," Bin said.

The report, however, showed the manufacturing sector lost 97,000 jobs in June from a year earlier. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector shed 95,000 jobs.

Jobs in the manufacturing sector declined from a year earlier for the 24th consecutive month.

Jobs in the construction industry fell 67,000, extending its losing streak for the 26th consecutive month.

The number of economically inactive people rose by 181,000 from a year earlier. The number of people reporting that they were not working and simply resting increased by 5,000 to 2.43 million.

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