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| ▲ This Feb. 20, 2025, file photo shows a job seeker checking job postings at an employment center in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kong Mi-sook, a senior official at Statistics Korea, speaks to reporters at the government complex in the central city of Sejong on April 9, 2025. (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) jobless rate-tally
(2nd LD) S. Korea adds nearly 200,000 jobs in March; yet construction, manufacturing sectors decline
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By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea added nearly 200,000 jobs in March, but employment in the construction and manufacturing sectors continued to decline, data showed Wednesday.
The number of employed people reached 28.59 million last month, up 193,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The country had posted a net increase of 135,000 jobs in January, reversing a 52,000 decrease in the previous month. In February, South Korea added 136,000 new positions.
The employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 increased 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier to 69.3 percent in March, while the jobless rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 percent, the data showed.
In March, employment in the construction sector dropped by 185,000 from the same month last year, marking a continuous decline for 11 consecutive months. It also marked the largest on-year drop and the longest streak of declines since Statistics Korea began compiling relevant data in 2013.
The construction industry has been showing poor performances amid high interest rates and unfavorable weather conditions, among other factors, according to the agency.
The manufacturing sector, considered the backbone of the country's employment, extended its decline to the ninth month. The sector lost 112,000 jobs from a year earlier in March, the largest on-year decline since November 2020.
Some forecasts suggest that manufacturing jobs could decline further this year as export growth slows, due to a potential trade war triggered by U.S. tariff policies.
In contrast, employment in public health and social welfare increased 212,000, while jobs in public administration and finance rose by 87,000 and 65,000, respectively.
March's job growth was primarily driven by the hiring of older adults.
Employment for those aged 60 years and older rose by 365,000 on-year. Jobs for people in their 30s went up by 109,000.
However, employment for younger age groups saw sharp declines.
Jobs for those in their 20s fell by 202,000, while employment among those in their 40s decreased by 49,000. Statistics Korea noted that the overall population in these age groups has also been shrinking.
The employment rate among people aged 15 and older went up 0.1 percentage point to 62.5 percent.
The employment rate for those aged between 15 and 29 stood at 44.5 percent, marking the lowest monthly record for any March since 2021.
"The low employment rate among the youth is partially due to a high number of economically inactive people in their early 20s, as many are staying longer in schools," Kong Mi-sook, a senior official at Statistics Korea, said.
The number of economically inactive people went down by 40,000 to 16.2 million as of end-March.
However, of them, the number of people who said they were simply out of work to take a rest rose by 2.9 percent, or 71,000 people, the agency said. Noticeably, the figure rose 16.3 percent on-year among the people in their 20s.
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