S.Korea's employment growth falls to 20-month low
Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:
Job growth in South Korea declined to the lowest in 20 months, indicating that the country's labor market conditions began faltering, a government report showed Wednesday.
The number of those employed totaled 25.106 million in January, up 347,000 from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It was the smallest increase since May 2013 when job creation stood at 265,000.
The country's job growth surged to more than 500,000 in July and August last year, but it fell below the 500,000 level since then before declining below the 400,000 level in January.
The Lunar New Year's holiday had a negative impact on employment data, the statistical agency said. The holiday fell in mid-January last year, boosting employment in some sectors, but it fell in mid-February this year, having no positive impact on the job figure.
Excluding the holiday effect, the country's labor market has been faltering as the job growth was mainly focused on the elderly while employment among youngsters continued to weaken.
New jobs among those aged over 60 increased by 174,000, with the figure for those in their 50s reaching 191,000. Employment for those in their 20s grew 26,000 last month, and job growth for those in their 30s reduced 17,000. Endi