SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment rose for the 11th straight month due to an increase in elderly jobs, statistical ministry data showed Wednesday.
The number of employed people aged 15 and older gained 225,000, or 0.8 percent, from a year earlier to 29,046,000 in November, continuing to grow since January, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The overall job growth was driven by the elderly. The number of jobs for those aged 60 and older expanded 333,000 in November on a yearly basis, while the figures for those in their 30s and 50s climbed 76,000 and 2,000 each.
Employment among those aged 15-29 dived 177,000, and jobs for those in their 40s reduced 9,000.
The number of jobs in the health and social welfare service, the business facility management and business support service, and the arts, sports and leisure service picked up 281,000, 63,000 and 61,000 each.
Employment among manufacturers dwindled 41,000 in November compared to the same month of last year, keeping a downward trend for the 17th successive month.
Jobs lost in the construction industry reached 131,000, continuing to go down for the 19th consecutive month.
The number of regular and irregular employees went up 258,000 and 65,000 each, but the reading for daily laborers diminished 29,000 last month.
The number of the self-employed who hired employees added 75,000, but the figure for the self-employed without workers declined 112,000.
Employment rate for those aged 15 and older grew 0.2 percentage points to 63.4 percent in November on a yearly basis, while the OECD-method hiring rate for those aged 15-64 mounted 0.3 percentage points to 70.2 percent.
The number of unemployed people totaled 661,000 in November, up 5,000 from a year earlier. Unemployment rate stood unchanged at 2.2 percent.
The expanded jobless rate dipped 0.1 percentage point to 7.8 percent in the cited month, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 retreated 0.1 percentage point to 15.0 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 prepare 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, sank 10,000 from a year earlier to 16,142,000 in November.
The reading for discouraged job seekers swelled 18,000 to 353,000 last month.
The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during the job survey period, was up 124,000 to 2,543,000 in the same month.
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. ■
