The South Korean government has been increasing the budget for jobs growth…but the grim situation hasn't gotten any better according to the latest job figures.
Our Ko Roon-hee explains.
More doom and gloom for jobseekers in South Korea... as the government's latest figures paint a bleak picture for their prospects.
According to Statistics Korea Wednesday, the number of unemployed people in August hit one-point-one-three million.
That's the highest figure for the month of August since 1999… when South Korea was still struggling to recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
And around 26-point-nine million people were employed last month.
That's up a mere three-thousand on-year.
It's the first time since 2010 that the on-year figures for newly-added jobs have been that low.
Statistics Korea says there a big fall in employment in the business facilities management and manufacturing sectors.
"The number of newly added jobs in August compared to the same period last month… increased in the health and social activities, information and communication industries. However, it decreased in sectors such as wholesale and retail, business facilities management, and manufacturing."
A slowdown in South Korea's manufacturing sector,... particularly its traditionally strong shipbuilding and auto sectors which have been undergoing restructuring, was cited as the main reason for faltering job figures for August.
Meanwhile…the overall unemployment rate for August stood at four-percent… up zero-point-four percentage points on-year.
The outlook for young jobseekers is even more gloomy.
The jobless rate for Koreans between 15-and-29 years old was ten-percent last month…also the highest since 1999.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
