South Korea employment grows slower last month

SEOUL — South Korea's employment grew slower year-on-year last month due to an economic slump, especially in the manufacturing industry, official data showed on Wednesday.

The number of those employed totaled 28,432,000 in April, up 354,000 from the same month last year, according to Statistics Korea. It was a slower increase compared to the growth of 469,000 in March.

The lower expansion came as uncertainties escalated over the South Korean economy on the continued fall in exports and the interest rate hikes.

The country's exports kept sliding for the seventh straight month through April amid the weaker demand for South Korean products, especially semiconductors.

The central bank began to tighten its monetary policy stance in August 2021, hiking its benchmark interest rate by 3.0 percentage points to 3.50 percent in January this year.

The number of jobs among manufacturers shrank 97,000 in April from a year earlier, continuing to decrease for the fourth successive month.

Elderly people led the overall job increase. Except for employment among those in their 60s or higher, March jobs declined compared to the same month of last year.

Older workers

The number of jobs among those aged 60 or higher surged 442,000 in April from a year earlier, but the figures for those in their 20s and 40s retreated 116,000 and 22,000, respectively.

The official unemployment rate gauges those who are immediately available for work but failed to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to seek a job actively.

The expanded jobless rate, called the labor underutilization indicator, adds to the official unemployment rate of those discouraged from searching for a job, those who work part time against their will to work full time, and those who prepare to get a job after college graduation.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating stood at 34.6 percent last week, a weekly poll showed on Monday.

The negative assessment of Yoon's conduct of state affairs slipped 0.1 percentage point to 62.5 percent, according to local pollster Realmeter.

Support for the ruling conservative People Power Party came to 34.9 percent last week, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous week.

Xinhua