South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged from a year earlier in September as the steady pace of economic recovery helped stabilize the nation's job market, a government report showed Wednesday.
The jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, with the manufacturing and non-public sector increasing the number of jobs and offsetting losses in the public sector, the report by Statistics Korea said.
The latest tally marks a slight increase from August's unemployment number of 3.3 percent with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also rising to 3.7 percent from 3.4 percent in the previous month.
The number of employed people topped slightly over 24 million last month, up 249,000 from a year earlier with gains coming from the manufacturing, health care, construction and private service sectors.
"Jobs in the public sector, which covers administrative support, national defense and welfare, decreased by 196,000 last month, but this was offset by 445,000 positions created by private businesses that required more workers to meet both local and overseas demands," said Eun Sun-hyun, head of the statistical office's social statistics division.
He added that September marked the sixth month in a row that the unemployment rate hovered in the 3 percent range after falling from 4.1 percent in March to 3.8 percent in April.
The official said the jobless rate among young people between 15 and 29 reached 7.2 percent last month up from 7.0 percent in the month before, with more regular jobs being created in September although close to 200,000 temporary positions were lost.
The finance ministry, meanwhile, said last month's unemployment numbers showed the private sector picking up the slack caused by the government cutting back on temporary public sector jobs created to deal with the global financial crisis shock last year.
It said last month's export increase of over 17 percent on-year and factory operating rate of 81 percent helped create demand for workers. The ministry also said gains of 39.8 percent in facility investment and 9.3 percent in consumer demand in September should lead to an increased number of jobs in the near future.
"Public sector jobs will continue to contract, but the number of new positions created should exceed 300,000 in October," the ministry said.
Last month's job figures come as the government predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy could grow 5.8 percent this year from just 0.2 percent in 2009. Employment conditions are one of the major indicators closely monitored by the market to determine if the recently rebounding economy is translating into a hike in private sector recruitment that is vital for sustained growth.
[English News Team]
The jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, with the manufacturing and non-public sector increasing the number of jobs and offsetting losses in the public sector, the report by Statistics Korea said.
The latest tally marks a slight increase from August's unemployment number of 3.3 percent with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also rising to 3.7 percent from 3.4 percent in the previous month.
The number of employed people topped slightly over 24 million last month, up 249,000 from a year earlier with gains coming from the manufacturing, health care, construction and private service sectors.
"Jobs in the public sector, which covers administrative support, national defense and welfare, decreased by 196,000 last month, but this was offset by 445,000 positions created by private businesses that required more workers to meet both local and overseas demands," said Eun Sun-hyun, head of the statistical office's social statistics division.
He added that September marked the sixth month in a row that the unemployment rate hovered in the 3 percent range after falling from 4.1 percent in March to 3.8 percent in April.
The official said the jobless rate among young people between 15 and 29 reached 7.2 percent last month up from 7.0 percent in the month before, with more regular jobs being created in September although close to 200,000 temporary positions were lost.
The finance ministry, meanwhile, said last month's unemployment numbers showed the private sector picking up the slack caused by the government cutting back on temporary public sector jobs created to deal with the global financial crisis shock last year.
It said last month's export increase of over 17 percent on-year and factory operating rate of 81 percent helped create demand for workers. The ministry also said gains of 39.8 percent in facility investment and 9.3 percent in consumer demand in September should lead to an increased number of jobs in the near future.
"Public sector jobs will continue to contract, but the number of new positions created should exceed 300,000 in October," the ministry said.
Last month's job figures come as the government predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy could grow 5.8 percent this year from just 0.2 percent in 2009. Employment conditions are one of the major indicators closely monitored by the market to determine if the recently rebounding economy is translating into a hike in private sector recruitment that is vital for sustained growth.
[English News Team]
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com