SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment growth remained low last month due to the manufacturing industry's slump and the faltering real estate market, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The number of the employed people aged 15 or higher totaled 28,678,000 in August, up 268,000 from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea. It kept rising for the 30th successive month.
The August job growth was higher than an increase of 211,000 in the previous month, but it stayed low compared to the expansion of 469,000 in March, 354,000 in April, 351,000 in May and 333,000 in June.
The employment remained sluggish as uncertainties mounted over the economy due to the manufacturing export fall and the higher interest rates leading to the housing market downturn.
The number of jobs among manufacturers declined by 69,000 in August from a year earlier, keeping a downward trend for the eighth consecutive month.
Jobs in the construction sector retreated by 1,000 last month, but employment in the health and social welfare services and the lodging and eatery sectors grew by 138,000 and 121,000 people, respectively.
The overall job growth was led by the elderly people. Except the employment among those aged 60 or higher, last month's jobs reduced compared to the same month of last year.
The number of jobs for those aged 60 or older increased by 304,000 in August from a year earlier, but the figures for those in their 20s and 40s dwindled 91,000 and 69,000, respectively.
The number of regular employees climbed 393,000, but the readings for irregular workers and daily laborers shrank 14,000 and 149,000, respectively, last month.
The number of the self-employed who hired workers expanded 59,000, and the figure for the self-employed without employees gained 34,000.
Employment rate for those aged 15 or higher added 0.3 percentage points over the year to 63.1 percent in August, while the OECD-method hiring rate for those aged 15-64 went up 0.7 percentage points to 69.6 percent.
The number of the unemployed people came in at 573,000 in August, down 41,000 from a year earlier. Jobless rate slipped 0.1 percentage points to 2.0 percent.
The expanded jobless rate went down 1.3 percentage points to 8.5 percent last month, and the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 slumped 2.4 percentage points to 15.7 percent.
The official unemployment rate gauges those who are immediately available for work but failed to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to seek a job actively.
The expanded jobless rate, called labor underutilization indicator, adds those who are discouraged from searching for a job, those who work part-time against their will to work full-time, and those who are preparing to get a job after college graduation, to the official unemployment rate.
The economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, fell by 83,000 people over the year to 16,163,000 in August.
The reading for discouraged job seekers diminished 61,000 to 406,000 last month.
The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, gained 83,000 to 2,322,000.
The take-a-rest group is considered important as it can include those who are too discouraged to seek a job for an extended period. ■
