Korea's unemployment rate matches record low as elderly get jobs

Economy

Published: 15 Mar. 2023, 16:44

Korea's unemployment rate matches record low as elderly get jobs

Job seekers look around at a job fair held at the aT Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul on March 2. [YONHAP]

The unemployment rate in February matched the August record of 2.6 percent seasonally adjusted as more elderly Koreans went to work.

The number of people employed rose 312,000 on year in February to 27.71 million, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday. That was the smallest increase since February 2021.

“The rate of the fall of the job growth rate could slow from the initial forecast due to the normalization of face-to-face services and the inflow of foreign workers following a return to the everyday life,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement on Wednesday.

From next week, masks will no longer be required on public transportation, ending one of the last pandemic rules.

Job growth was in the 60-and-above category, with 413,000 added in this age group. Excluding this group, the number of people employed fell 101,000.

The number of the newly employed aged 15 to 29 fell for a fourth month. For this group, the employment rate was 45.5 percent, the lowest since the 42.0 percent in February 2021.

“A large number of young people in their early 20s are returning to study, and the reduction in the large number of delivery riders” drove the decline, a spokesperson for Statistics Korea said.

The base effect was also blamed, as many jobs were added in the same month a year earlier, as was the general economic slowdown.

Korea added 1.04 million new jobs in February last year driven by pandemic recovery.

Job growth this February was 7.3 percent in social welfare services, 8.4 percent in the accommodation and restaurants category and 4.5 percent in information and communication.

The number of jobs fell 2.3 percent in wholesale and retail, 3.5 percent in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 2.6 percent transportation and storage.

The number of the employed in manufacturing declined for the second consecutive month on a reduction of workers in the chip business.

Last year, Korea added an average of 816,000 jobs on-year each month. The finance ministry earlier said it expects the figure to drop to around 100,000 this year as the economy continues to face headwinds and the population declines.

The February report arrived less than a month after the central bank's Monetary Policy Board kept the rate steady at 3.50 percent on concerns about weak economic growth.

The Bank of Korea last month forecast Korea to achieve 1.6 percent economic growth this year.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]