South Korean exporters employed more than 6 million in 2014 as overseas shipments played a major role in fueling growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy, government data showed Sunday.

The number of jobs created by the export-related businesses totaled 6.1 million people in the cited year, up from 5.3 million tallied in 2010 and 3.7 million in 2000, according to the data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The findings are based on the latest available data compiled by the Bank of Korea.

The workforce accounted for 25.9 percent of the total number of jobs in the country that stood at 23.6 million. The consumer sector accounted for 54.9 percent of the total with investments being responsible for 19.2 percent. In 2014, exports rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

Exports have been South Korea's key economic driver as they take up about a half of the country's gross domestic product.

However, in 2015 and 2016, the country saw its outbound shipments fall 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

It was the first time in 58 years that South Korea's exports finished in negative terrain two years in a row amid a deep slump in global demand.

Separate data showed that as of 2016 a 1 percent drop in exports would drag down the number of jobs by 60,000.

"Exports are very important in terms of employment," the ministry said. "If exports had fallen more, South Korea would have faced a tighter job market."

South Korea's jobless rate was 3.7 percent in 2016, marking the highest since 2010, while the numbers for those aged between 15 and 29 hit an all-time high of 9.8 percent.

President Moon Jae-in has made job creation his top priority since his inauguration on May 10. He promised to create 810,000 public job in the next five years, with a 11 trillion-won supplementary budget to be mapped out as a first step. (Yonhap)