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| ▲ Citizens look at employment information put up on a bulletin board at a state-run job center in Seoul, in this file photo from Feb. 16, 2022. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This file photo, taken Dec. 27, 2021, shows a job information bulletin board at a university in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) jobless rate-February
(LEAD) Job growth extended for 12th month in Feb. amid economic recovery
(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with details from para 5; ADDS photo)
By Kim Soo-yeon
SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported job additions for the 12th straight month in February on the back of a low base effect and the economic recovery, data showed Wednesday.
The number of employed people came to 27.4 million last month, up 1.04 million from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The tally was lower than an on-year increase of 1.14 million in January, the largest in almost 22 years, but the number of employed people grew by more than 1 million for the second straight month.
The number of employed people has also increased every month since March last year.
The statistics agency said job growth has continued amid robust exports and a low base effect.
The number of employed people fell 473,000 on-year in February last year, marking the 12th straight month of job losses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the latest spike in virus cases, Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track as exports of chips and autos remain solid.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the South Korean economy is expected to grow 3 percent this year after a 4 percent expansion last year, the fastest growth in 11 years.
The employment rate of people aged 15 and older rose 2 percentage points on-year to 60.6 percent last month. It marked the highest for any February since the statistics agency began compiling related data in July 1982.
The number of economically inactive people -- those who are neither working nor actively seeking jobs or people outside the labor force -- reached 16.9 million in February, down 412,000 from a year earlier. It marked the 12th consecutive month of an on-year fall.
The number of unemployed people declined 399,000 on-year to 954,000 in February.
The country's jobless rate fell 1.5 percentage points on-year to 3.4 percent last month, the lowest for any February.
Some in-person service segments are still suffering job strains due to the pandemic, indicating that the job recovery remains uneven across the sectors.
The number of employed people in the wholesale and retail sector fell 47,000 on-year in February, compared with a decline of 56,000 in January.
But the accommodation and food service sector reported job growth for the third straight month with an on-year gain of 55,000 jobs.
The manufacturing sector, a backbone of the country's economy, reported an on-year increase of 32,000 jobs.
The number of permanent workers grew 767,000 on-year in February and that of temporary workers rose 342,000. But that of day laborers fell 149,000 on-year, marking the 10th straight month of decline.
Last month, the BOK forecast the number of employed people to increase 280,000 this year, up from its earlier estimate of 250,000.
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