SEOUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's labor market conditions have been shaken in recent months despite the government's efforts to bolster job creation especially among the younger generation, a government report showed Wednesday.
The number of those employed totaled 27,126,000 in June, up 106,000, or 0.4 percent, from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
The yearly job growth recorded 104,000 in February, falling below 200,000 for the first time in 21 months. It hovered around 100,000 for the next three months, before declining below 100,000 in May.
The government called the May job data "shock" as it was lowest in eight years. The figure managed to rise above 100,000 in June, but the labor market conditions were still shaken despite the government's efforts to create decent jobs.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office in May last year, said his top policy priority would be placed on job creation, especially among youths, but it had yet to take effect.
The Moon government unveiled a supplementary budget plan of 3.9 trillion won (3.7 billion U.S. dollars) to create some 50,000 decent jobs for youths this year, and to help laid-off workers in southern regions where shipbuilders and automakers are under the restructuring process.
The number of workers hired by manufacturers reduced by 126,000 in June from a year earlier, posting a downward trend for the third consecutive month. It was the biggest fall in 17 months.
Despite the brisk exports, it failed to lead to job increase and stoked worry about growth without job creation.
Exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, topped 50 billion U.S. dollars for four months through June, but the outbound shipment fell 1.9 percent for the first 10 days of July.
Jobs in the educational services sector dipped 107,000 in June from a year earlier, keeping a downward momentum amid the falling number of children of school age.
Those employed in the wholesale & retail and lodging & eatery industries kept falling for the seventh consecutive month on weak private consumption, caused by massive household debts and heavy debt-servicing burden.
Wage earners increased 118,000 in June from a year earlier. Regular workers grew, but irregular workers and those working on a daily basis were on the downside.
Employment rate stood at 61.4 percent in June, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier.
The hiring rate gauges the percentage of working people to the working-age population or those aged above 15. The employment rate is used as an alternative to jobless rate, and the government set its long-term target at 70 percent.
The total number of those unemployed was 1,034,000 in June, down 26,000, or 2.5 percent, from a year ago.
Jobless rate slid 0.1 percentage point over the year to 3.7 percent in June. The unemployment rate among youths aged 15-29 shrank 1.4 percentage points to 9.0 percent.
The so-called expanded jobless rate for youths, which reflect labor market conditions more accurately, came to 22.9 percent in June. It was down 0.5 percentage points, but the figure stayed at a high level.
The official unemployment rate refers to those who are immediately available for work but fail to get a job in the past four weeks despite efforts to actively seek a job.
The expanded jobless rate adds those who are discouraged to seek a job, those who work part-time against their will to work full-time and those who prepare to get a job after college graduation to the official jobless rate.
