Number of Unemployed Declines

Employment structure has rapidly improved.
According to a report on employment in October, released on November 23 by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the number of unemployed declined by 48,000 to 1.02 million from September, while the unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 2.6 percent.
These figures are the lowest since January 1998.
The number of employed workers soared by 155,000 to 21.15 million on the previous month.
The number of workers increased in all industries, except for the construction and public service sectors, while the number of agricultural workers jumped by 93,000 or 3.6 percent, and manufacturing employees soared by 59,000 or 1.4 percent.
Employment structure has also improved, as the number of workers in temporary jobs of under a month's duration decreased by 65,000 and the average hours worked per week increased by 0.6 hours to 51.7 hours.
Notably, the number of unemployed workers in their 40s declined by 24,000 or 10.8 percent, to 199,000.
A source at the NSO said, 'The unemployment rate usually soars during the November - February period due to the decrease of jobs in construction and agricultural sectors. However, the government has been preparing countermeasures to the 'winter unemployment' problem.'
Kang Joo-an : jooan@joongang.co.kr