October 30, 2024

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South Korea’s jobless rate rose to 4 percent in June from a year earlier, and job additions again exceeded the 200,000 mark, government data showed on July 10.

The unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage point on-year.

The jobless rate marked the highest level for any June since 1999, when the corresponding figure stood at 6.7 percent.

The number of employed people reached 27.4 million in June, a rise of 281,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of added jobs are the most since January 2018, when the number increased by 334,000.

The statistics agency said the number of unemployed people stood at 1.13 million in June, also the highest level since June 1996.

The unemployment rate for young adults -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- rose 10.4 percent last month from 9 percent tallied a year earlier.

By industry, the manufacturing sector -- the backbone of Korea’s economy -- continued to suffer a decline in job offerings by losing 66,000 jobs in June.

In contrast, the health and social welfare sectors added 125,000 jobs, and the education service sector saw an increase of 74,000 jobs last month.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)