SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment growth hit a five-month high last month, indicating a steady recovery trend despite prolonged downturns in manufacturing, construction and the youth labor market, statistical ministry data showed Wednesday.
The number of employed people aged 15 and older gained 184,000, or 0.6 percent, from a year earlier to 29,151,000 in August, marking the largest on-year job growth since March, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
After maintaining a steady expansion of 100,000 to 200,000 jobs in the first quarter, the job growth slowed sharply to 74,000 in April. The number of jobs shrank by 40,000 in May before rebounding in June with a growth of 63,000 and 108,000 in July.
The overall employment rate for those aged 15 and older remained flat at 63.3 percent in August from a year ago, while the OECD-standard hiring rate for those aged 15-64 rose 0.5 percentage points to 70.4 percent.
Employment among manufacturers fell 38,000 in August from a year earlier, posting its 26th consecutive month of decline. It was slower than a contraction of 68,000 in the previous month.
Jobs lost in the construction industry reached 32,000 in August, extending the streak of losses to 28 straight months, though the falling pace moderated compared to a reduction of 57,000 in July.
The accommodation and food services sector saw a drop of 61,000 jobs last month, its sharpest fall in 13 months.
The losses were offset by strong hiring in the health and social welfare service, the arts, sports and leisure service, and the business facility management industries, which recorded a job increase of 186,000, 73,000 and 45,000 each.
The cold spell for youth labor was prolonged. The number of employed people aged 15-29 plummeted 143,000 in August on a yearly basis, continuing to go down for 46 successive months.
The youth employment rate tumbled 1.0 percentage point to 44.1 percent, falling for 28 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 191,000, while the figures for those in their 30s and 50s swelled 91,000 and 62,000 each.
Among wage earners, the number of regular workers mounted 180,000, while the readings for irregular employees and daily laborers shrank 50,000 and 17,000 each.
Among non-wage workers, the number of the self-employed with employees swelled by 47,000, and the figure for the self-employed without employees increased by 62,000.
The number of unemployed people totaled 588,000 in August, down 4,000 from a year earlier. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.0 percent.
The expanded jobless rate dipped 0.6 percentage points to 7.6 percent in the cited month, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 added 0.1 percentage points to 15.4 percent.
The official unemployment rate gauges those who are immediately available for work but have failed to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to seek a job actively.
The expanded jobless rate, called the 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, rose 77,000 from a year earlier to 16,297,000 in August.
The reading for discouraged jobseekers dwindled by 42,000 to 367,000 last month.
The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, reduced by 89,000 to 2,551,000 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. ■