SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment grew more than 300,000 for two straight months to September on the government's efforts to create jobs in the face of an aging population, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The number of those employed totaled 27,404,000 in September, up 348,000 from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It came after increasing 452,000 in the previous month.
The employment growth came as the government unveiled a series of projects to create jobs especially among the older generation.
South Korea was one of the fastest aging societies, leading the government to provide part-time jobs for the elderly who did not fully prepare for their life after retirement.
The number of regular workers expanded 541,000 in the month, while those for irregular workers and daily workers reduced 10,000 and 113,000 respectively.
Employment among those aged 60 or higher expanded 380,000 in September from a year earlier, with the readings among those in their 50s and 20s growing 119,000 and 64,000 each.
Jobs in the 30s and 40s declined 13,000 and 179,000 each last month amid the falling number of populations of those ages.
The hiring rate for those aged 15 or higher gained 0.3 percentage points over the year to 61.5 percent last month, marking the highest September reading in 23 years since 1996.
The employment rate among those aged 15-29 rose 0.8 percentage points to 43.7 percent, with the OECD-method hiring rate among those aged 15-64 adding 0.3 percentage points to 67.1 percent in the month.
The employment rate gauges the percentage of working people to the working-age population, or those aged 15 or above. Amid the aging population, it is used as an alternative to show the labor market conditions more precisely.
By industry, job creation in the healthcare and welfare services, the science and technology services, and the eatery and lodging services expanded 170,000, 83,000 and 79,000 each in September from a year earlier.
Employment among manufacturers plummeted 111,000 in the month, keeping a downward trend for 18 months in a row due mainly to the continued slide in export for 10 straight months through September.
The number of those unemployed was 884,000 in September, down 140,000 from a year earlier. It was the lowest September figure in four years since 2015.
Jobless rate declined 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 3.1 percent in September, the lowest September figure in five years since 2014.
The so-called expanded jobless rate, which reflects labor market conditions more accurately, slumped 0.6 percentage points to 10.8 percent in the month.
The official unemployment rate refers to those who are immediately available for work but fail to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to actively seek a job.
The expanded jobless rate adds those who are discouraged from searching 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.
The number of economically inactive population increased 127,000 from a year earlier to 16,285,000 last month.
The so-called "take-a-rest" group, which replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, jumped 339,000 in the month. It is an important figure as the group can include those who are unemployed and too discouraged to search for work for an extended period of time.
Discouraged workers, who gave up efforts to seek a job because of the worsened labor market conditions, declined 24,000 over the year to 532,000 in September.
