S.Korea adds 317,000 jobs in 2017, with unemployment rate at 3.7 pct

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's economy added 317,000 jobs in 2017, with unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7 percent from the previous year, a government report showed Wednesday.

The number of those employed totaled 26,552,000 in 2017, up 317,000 from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. It was up from an employment of 299,000 in 2016, but it stayed below the creation of 337,000 jobs in 2015 and 533,000 jobs in 2014.

Jobless rate stood at 3.7 percent in 2017, unchanged from the previous year. But the number of those unemployed totaled 1,028,000 last year, marking the highest since the related data began to be compiled in 2000.

Manufacturers employed 4,469,000 workers in 2017, down 0.3 percent from the prior year. Construction firms hired more employees, while those working in the social welfare and healthcare sectors grew 3.3 percent. Enditem