South Korea adds 183,000 jobs in June; manufacturing, construction sectors sluggish
South Korea added more than 180,000 jobs in June, marking the sixth consecutive month of employment growth, but employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors continued to decline, data showed on Wednesday.
The number of employed people reached 29.09 million last month, up 183,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
June's data highlight a continued upward trend in employment following a brief contraction in December, when the country saw a net loss of 52,000 positions, reports Yonhap news agency.
Since then, the trend has reversed by posting a net increase of 135,000 jobs in January, 136,000 in February, 193,000 in March, 194,000 in April and 245,000 in May.
The employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 increased 0.4 percentage point from a year earlier to 70.3 percent in June, while the jobless rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 2.8 percent, the data showed.
The manufacturing sector lost 83,000 jobs from a year earlier in June, extending its downturn to the 12th consecutive month.
The construction sector shed 97,000 jobs over the same period to continue its decline for the 14th straight month.
"Although the decline in manufacturing has lessened compared to March and April, it slightly increased from the previous month," an official at the statistics agency said. "We need to keep an eye on the impact from trade issues and the ongoing tariff negotiations (with the U.S.)"
The agriculture sector saw the steepest job decline since November 2015, deducting 141,000 jobs, which translates to an 8.7 percent drop.
The significant drop is attributable to an abnormal cold wave in April and heavy rain in June, the agency said.
The accommodation and food service industry lost 38,000 jobs amid weak domestic consumption.
Jobs related to education services also increased by 72,000. June's job growth was primarily driven by the hiring of older adults.
Employment for those aged 60 years and older jumped 348,000 from a year earlier, and jobs for people in their 30s went up by 116,000.
Employment for younger age groups, however, saw declines.
Jobs for those in their 20s fell by 152,000, while employment among those in their 40s and 50s decreased by 55,000 and 53,000, respectively.
The employment rate for people aged 15 and older edged up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier to 63.6 percent in June. However, the employment rate for those aged 15 to 29 dropped 1 percentage point on-year to 45.6 percent, down for the 14th consecutive month.
The number of economically inactive people went up by 42,000 to 15.8 million as of end-June.
