Expanding exports deliver job growth of 330,000 in February

Korea added 329,000 new jobs in February from a year earlier, with the total number of employed people coming to 28.04 million. A person looks over job information in Seoul on Wednesday.[NEWS1]

Korea added nearly 330,000 new jobs in February on increased positions for senior workers and in the manufacturing sector as the country’s exports have started to pick up.

The country added 329,000 new jobs last month from a year earlier, with the total number of employed people coming to 28.04 million, according to Statistics Korea data on Wednesday. The job addition slowed from 380,000 in January.

Jobs for people aged 60 and older rose by 297,000 on year largely driven by government positions, while employment for those in their 50s rose by 84,000 over the same period. Jobs for people in their 30s advanced by 71,000.

Jobs for people aged between 15 and 29, however, dropped by 61,000, continuing to fall for the 16th straight month due to a falling youth population, according to the agency.

Jobs for people in their 40s also decelerated by 62,000, extending the losing streak to 20 consecutive months.

By industry, manufacturing gained 38,000 more jobs to climb for the third straight month on the back of the export recovery. Korea’s outbound shipments advanced for the fifth straight month from last year on growing demand for chips and vessels.

The public administration, defense and social welfare sectors created 98,000 new jobs as the government hired more workers ahead of the general election scheduled for April 10.

The information and communications sector saw 80,000 new positions, while science and technology services saw 78,000 new jobs.

However, food and lodging shed 2,000 jobs due to weak private consumption, which has been cited as a major reason the country’s growth has pulled back amid a persistently high interest rate. Eight thousand jobs were lost in the sector the previous month. The workforce in the agriculture, forestry and fishery, education and real estate sectors also contracted.

The employment rate of people aged between 15 and 64 rose 0.7 percent point on-year to 68.7 percent last month, the highest for any February since the government started compiling data in 1989.

The jobless rate inched up 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 percent.

The number of unemployed people who sought a job advanced 25,000 to 915,000 last month, growing for the fourth straight month.

The job market is projected to remain stable along with the economic recovery, like the rebound in exports, said the Ministry of Economy and Finance in a statement, while warning that a weak property market could disrupt jobs in the construction sector.

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