Roundup: Job creation in S. Korea slows down, jobless rate unchanged

Job creation in South Korea slowed down in November, with jobless rate unchanged at 3.1 percent, a government report showed Wednesday.

The total number of those employed reached 26.253 million in November, up 285,000 from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea.

The November growth decelerated after rising more than 300,000 in September and October.

The slowing job creation was attributed to more raining days in November that resulted in a sharp decline in jobs for the agricultural sector.

Job creation in the agricultural industry declined 168,000 in November from a year earlier, marking the largest fall since March 2010.

Manufacturers added 190,000 jobs last month, but job creation in the construction sector and the wholesale and retail industry reduced 37,000 and 128,000 respectively.

The economically active population, or the sum of those employed and unemployed, grew 296,000 in November from a year earlier.

The hiring rate was unchanged at 60.8 percent last month. The OECD-method employment rate for those aged 15-64 rose 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier to 66.3 percent in November.

The youth hiring rate for those aged 15-29 advanced 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier to 41.8 percent in November.

The employment rate gauges the percentage of working people to the working age population, or those aged 15 or above. It is used as an alternative to jobless rate, and the government targeted 70 percent over the long run.

The jobless rate made no change at 3.1 percent in November compared with the same month of last year.

The youth unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 8.1 percent in November. From a month ago, the jobless rate was up 0.7 percentage points last month.

The so-called "sentiment" jobless rate, which the statistical agency began to unveil from November 2014 to reflect jobless conditions more accurately, was 10.3 percent in November.

The official unemployment rate gauges the percentage of those unemployed who actively sought jobs in the past four weeks to the sum of people employed and unemployed.

The sentiment jobless rate includes part-time workers who hope to get a regular job working more than 36 hours a week and those who want to work but reply during the job survey period that they conducted no job-searching activity in the past four weeks.

The November job increase was led by those of old age. Job creation among those in their 50s and 60s increased 139,000 and 110,000 each, with the figure for those in their 20s rising 79,000. Jobs created last month in their 30s and 40s reduced 50,000 and 4,000 respectively.

The economically inactive population, or those aged over 15 minus the sum of those employed and unemployed, came in at 16.099 million in November, up 197,000 from a year earlier.

Among them, those studying in preparation for future jobs after college graduation expanded 36,000 from a year earlier to 601,000 in November. Those in school and child rearing were down 131,000 and 73,000 each last month.

Those too discouraged to continue their search for jobs stood at 456,000 in November. Discouraged workers are those who want to work and are available to do so but failed to get a job due to tough labor market conditions. They are those who looked for jobs sometime in the prior 12 months. Enditem