SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's job growth stayed in the 100,000 range for a third straight month, driven by a turnaround in the manufacturing industry in over two years, statistical ministry data showed Friday.
The number of employed people aged 15 and older gained 113,000, or 0.4 percent, from a year earlier to 29,266,000 in September, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
After hitting a decrease of 40,000 jobs in May, employment rebounded in June with an increase of 63,000 before surpassing the 100,000 threshold in July, August and September.
The overall employment rate for those aged 15 and older slipped 0.2 percentage points year on year to 63.5 percent in September, but the OECD-standard hiring rate for those aged 15-64 rose 0.2 percentage points to 70.6 percent.
Employment among manufacturers mounted 16,000 in September on a yearly basis, marking the first rebound since June 2024.
Jobs lost in the construction industry reached 48,000 last month, extending the losing streak to 29 months.
The accommodation and food services sector, a key indicator of domestic consumption, saw a drop of 97,000 jobs, keeping a downward trajectory for two consecutive months.
The losses were offset by strong hiring in the health and social welfare service, the transport and warehousing, and the finance and insurance industries, which recorded job increases of 207,000, 54,000 and 32,000 each.
The cold spell for youth labor was prolonged. The number of employed people aged 15-29 plummeted 147,000 in September from a year earlier, continuing to go down for 47 straight months.
The youth employment rate tumbled 1.1 percentage points to 44 percent, falling for 29 months in a row.
The elderly population compensated for the slack in youth hiring. The number of jobs for those aged 60 and older surged 172,000, while the figures for those in their 30s and 50s swelled 81,000 and 48,000 each.
The number of unemployed people totaled 600,000 in September, down 34,000 from a year earlier. The unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage points to 2 percent.
The expanded jobless rate, called the labor underutilization indicator, shrank 0.6 percentage points to 7.3 percent, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 added 0.5 percentage points to 15.6 percent.
The economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, rose 179,000 from a year earlier to 16,188,000 in September.
The reading for discouraged jobseekers dwindled 1,000 to 368,000 last month.
The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, reduced 25,000 to 2,497,000 in the cited month. ■
