Korea adds 300,000 jobs in January but fewer young adults employed

A man looks at the bulletin board posting job vacanies at the public employment center in Mapo District, western Seoul last year. [YONHAP]

Korea added more than 300,000 jobs for the first time in three months in January, according to new data Friday.

The number of employed people was 27.74 million last month, up 380,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It is the first time in three months that the country has added more than 300,000 jobs. Hiring has picked up on-month for three months in a row.

People over the age of 60 saw the most gains while young adult employment stayed in negative terrain. More than 350,000 adults above the age of 60 accounted for jobs added in January.

The number of employees of those aged between 15 and 29 shrank by 85,000 compared to January last year.

The country's jobless rate came to 3.7 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, the data showed.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, YONHAP [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]