South Korea's jobless rate rose in December from a month earlier, but more jobs were created, with the labor market still grim for youths, a government report showed Wednesday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up from 3.1 percent in November. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate also inched up from 3.4 percent to 3.5 percent.
The figure slowed slightly from the 438,000 increase tallied in November but represented the fourth straight month that it topped the 400,000 mark, the report said.
For the whole of 2014, the country's jobless rate hit 3.5 percent, a 0.4 percentage point gain from the year before. There were 25.59 million people employed in 2014, up 533,000 from the previous year. The increase is the largest reported since 2002.
Last year's labor market numbers showed a rise in newly created jobs, the agency said, a trend it linked to more people opting to find work as companies have moved to hire more people.
The number of people listed as unemployed reached 886.000 last month from 818,000 in November and 774,000 a year earlier.
"Employment numbers (in December) dipped mainly due to fewer jobs in farming and fisheries, but this was offset by more jobs being created in manufacturing, health and social welfare services, as well as people employed in hospitality sectors," said Sim Won-bo, head of the agency's employment statistics division.
He said job losses in the farming and fisheries sector are common for winter months, when there is less work.
Health and social welfare added 152,000 jobs last month, up 9.7 percent compared with a year earlier, while the manufacturing sector employed 142,000 more workers for a 3.3 percent on-year gain. In the hospitality field, numbers rose 121,000, with 113,000 more people on the payroll of wholesale and retail businesses, the latest report showed.
The statistical office said the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sector employed 94,000 fewer workers than a year earlier. The number of workers hired in miscellaneous service sectors contracted, along with those hired in public administration and defense-related segments.
The latest report showed that labor market conditions for younger people remained tougher than for other age groups.
The unemployment rate for those between the ages of 15 and 29 was 9 percent in December, up from 7.9 percent tallied a month earlier. This figure is higher than the previous year's 8.5 percent.
"The unemployment figure for young people represents the highest monthly tally since corresponding data began to be compiled in 2000," Sim said. He, however, claimed that this is partly the result of more jobs being created overall that is causing young people, who did not seek employment in the past, to look for work. The official said the same factor caused a rise in unemployment for people in their 50s.
The latest report showed the so-called labor underutilization indicator reached 11.2 percent last month, up from 10.2 percent in November and 10.1 percent in October.
This indicator is based on guidelines made by the International Labor Organization and reflects the number of people who are "underemployed" and those who currently hold part-time jobs but want full-time work.
It also counts unemployed people who have given up looking for work, not by choice but due to circumstance, which makes them potential job seekers. A rise in this number is an indication that employment conditions felt by ordinary people are worse than what official jobless figures indicate.
Under the conventional system of calculating employment, those that have not sought jobs for a set period are excluded from the statistics.
The agency started to provide the indicator late last year to provide a more accurate picture of the country's labor market situation.
The monthly findings for December showed the employment rate gaining 0.3 percentage point on-year to 59.4 percent, with numbers moving up 0.7 percentage point on-year to 65.3 percent if calculated using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's system of employment for people between 15 and 64.
Of the newly employed last month, 372,000 were regular, full-time workers, a gain of 3.1 percent from the year before. The number of temporary workers gained 2.7 percent, or 129,000, while daily workers hired for less than a month dipped by 38,000, or 2.4 percent.
Data showed that there was a noticeable rise in women entering the workforce compared to the past.
Related to the employment numbers, the finance ministry said December showed steady gains in the country's job market that should continue in the new year.
It said to keep alive this momentum, sweeping economic reforms are necessary. (Yonhap)
