Jobless rate falls to 3.1% in July

Korea’s jobless rate fell from a month earlier in July due to a rise in new jobs offered, especially for young people, according to a government report on Thursday.

Statistics Korea said the jobless rate hit 3.1 percent in July, down from 3.2 percent in June. It also said the growth in the number of employed persons increased by 1.3 percent compared to the previous month.

In July, 470,000 new jobs were added in the market, compared with some 365,000 new jobs in the previous month, officials said.

The growth level returned to above 400,000 after dropping to 365,000 in June. The number of self-employed grew to its largest in ten years in July, and that of those employed in the manufacturing industry, which had seen a downward trend for 11 consecutive months, grew as well.

“We expect the upward trend in the number of the employed will continue, but the growth level will slow down to about 300,000 after the fourth quarter,” said an official at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)