SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's shipment growth in the mining and manufacturing sectors hit the highest in six years last year thanks to brisk activity among chipmakers, a government report showed Tuesday.
The total shipment among mining and manufacturing companies amounted to 1,516.4 trillion won (1.34 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 7 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.
It was the biggest yearly increase since 2011 due mainly to electronics, including semiconductors, of which shipment jumped 14.6 percent in 2017 from the prior year.
Shipments of refined petroleum and machinery posted a double-digit expansion, but those for ship and automobile tumbled 24.7 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
Employment in the mining and manufacturing industries reduced 1,000 over the year to 2,968,000 in 2017, marking the first decline since 2009 when the global financial crisis rattled the economy.
Weak activity among shipbuilders and automakers, which hire more employees than other industrial companies, led to the employment fall, offsetting the brisk activity in the electronics sector.
The number of employees among shipbuilders plunged 13 percent, with those for textile and clothing companies falling 5.8 percent and 7.7 percent each.
Employment in the electronics sector shed 0.4 percent, but those in the machinery and food sectors gained ground last year.
