Korea's jobless rate unchanged at 3.7% in Jan.

Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent in January, government data showed Wednesday.

The number of employed people reached 26.21 million in January, up 334,000 from a year earlier and accelerating from the previous month's on-year rise of 257,000, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.

The unemployment rate for young people -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- was 8.7 percent, compared with 8.6 percent a year earlier.

(Yonhap)

The employment rate advanced 0.4 percentage point to 61.8 percent from a year earlier, with the corresponding figure for young people up 0.8 percentage point at 42.2 percent.

The number of workers employed in the manufacturing sector increased by 106,000 last month, while the agriculture segment saw hiring gains of 94,000 last month, according to the data.

The construction sector added 83,000 last month, while the educational service and retail sectors shed workers.

Last month's on-year rise in the number of people employed was due to a base effect stemming from the worsened job situation at shipyards from late 2016, the statistics office said.(Yonhap)