South Korea's exports have been contributing less and less to national economic growth in recent years, a report showed Monday, falling to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Exports were also not creating as many jobs as before, the same report said.

According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association, the rate of exports' contribution to economic growth was measured at 37.7 percent in 2013, down from 51 percent tallied in 2012.

This marked the lowest since 2008 when it fell to 20.1 percent.

The contribution rate measures how much of a net increase in gross domestic product comes from real added value created by exports.

The rate for South Korea stayed at 72.8 percent in 2011 but fell to 51 percent in 2012. The 2013 contribution rate was lower than the 10-year average of 71.6 percent.

The trade association also said that exports' job creating impact remained high, but its growth pace seemed to be stagnant.

In 2013, the number of jobs created by exports topped 4 million for the first time, up 10,000 from a year earlier.

The on-year growth is, however, far lower than the additional 287,000 jobs created by exports in 2012. The ratio of exports-induced jobs out of the total employment also edged down 0.2 percent on-year to 16 percent, the report showed. (Yonhap)