ID :
194660
Wed, 07/13/2011 - 04:58
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https://oananews.org//node/194660
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's jobless rate falls to 3.3 pct in June
(ATTN: ADDS statistics agency official's comment in 4th para; RECASTS 12-13 paras with finance minister's remarks)
SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate declined in June from a year earlier as the nation added more jobs, helped by robust exports and expanded industrial output, a government report showed Wednesday.
The jobless rate stood at 3.3 percent last month, down from 3.5 percent a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It was, however, slightly higher than 3.2 percent in May.
Job creation appears to be gaining traction as the private sector keeps hiring, the report showed. The number of working people came to 24.75 million last month, up 472,000 from a year earlier, the largest gain in 11 months, the report showed.
"The latest job data and other indicators show that our employment conditions have returned to the pre-crisis levels," Song Seong-heon, director of the agency's employment statistics division, told Yonhap. "The improvement is mostly driven by the non-public sector."
The health and social welfare service sector added 186,000 jobs, while manufacturers hired 118,000 more positions than a year earlier, the report showed. The retail and wholesale sector also employed 96,000 more workers.
The ongoing economic recovery and improving labor market conditions helped lower the number of unemployed people. The number of those who failed to land work despite their job-hunting efforts totaled 839,000, down from 878,000 a year earlier, according to the report.
The labor market conditions also improved for younger people, though their jobless rate still remains relatively high.
The jobless rate among those aged 15-29 was 7.6 percent last month, down from 8.3 percent a year earlier. It was, however, up from 7.3 percent tallied in the previous month, the report showed.
Job creation is one of the top priorities for the government as it is striving to achieve a sustained economic recovery, believing that employment will boost domestic demand.
In his inauguration speech last month, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan noted that he will focus on creating jobs in order to help low and mid-income people benefit from the ongoing economic recovery.
On June 30, the government unveiled its economy-management plan for the second half in which it painted a relatively rosy picture of the nation's employment market. It revised upward its job creation projection for this year from 280,000 to 330,000.
Citing the job creation figure for June, Bahk told a policy coordination meeting earlier in the day that it was an "unexpected" surprise, proving that the nation's labor market situations keep improving much faster than projected.
Behind the improvement in labor market conditions lies strong exports, which appear to be underpinning the ongoing economic recovery, experts said. Last month, the nation's shipments expanded 14.5 percent from a year earlier to US$48.2 billion.
Strong exports and rebounding consumption also drove up production. The nation's industrial output expanded 8.3 percent in May from a year earlier, marking the 23rd straight month of on-year expansion.
Inflation, however, cast a shadow on the overall economic situations amid concerns that higher prices could reduce real income and dampen consumption, a key part of the nation's economic growth.
Consumer prices rose 4.4 percent last month from a year earlier, staying above the government's renewed inflation target of 4 percent for the sixth straight month. The government said that it will place its policy priority on price stability along with job creation for the remainder of the year.
SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate declined in June from a year earlier as the nation added more jobs, helped by robust exports and expanded industrial output, a government report showed Wednesday.
The jobless rate stood at 3.3 percent last month, down from 3.5 percent a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It was, however, slightly higher than 3.2 percent in May.
Job creation appears to be gaining traction as the private sector keeps hiring, the report showed. The number of working people came to 24.75 million last month, up 472,000 from a year earlier, the largest gain in 11 months, the report showed.
"The latest job data and other indicators show that our employment conditions have returned to the pre-crisis levels," Song Seong-heon, director of the agency's employment statistics division, told Yonhap. "The improvement is mostly driven by the non-public sector."
The health and social welfare service sector added 186,000 jobs, while manufacturers hired 118,000 more positions than a year earlier, the report showed. The retail and wholesale sector also employed 96,000 more workers.
The ongoing economic recovery and improving labor market conditions helped lower the number of unemployed people. The number of those who failed to land work despite their job-hunting efforts totaled 839,000, down from 878,000 a year earlier, according to the report.
The labor market conditions also improved for younger people, though their jobless rate still remains relatively high.
The jobless rate among those aged 15-29 was 7.6 percent last month, down from 8.3 percent a year earlier. It was, however, up from 7.3 percent tallied in the previous month, the report showed.
Job creation is one of the top priorities for the government as it is striving to achieve a sustained economic recovery, believing that employment will boost domestic demand.
In his inauguration speech last month, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan noted that he will focus on creating jobs in order to help low and mid-income people benefit from the ongoing economic recovery.
On June 30, the government unveiled its economy-management plan for the second half in which it painted a relatively rosy picture of the nation's employment market. It revised upward its job creation projection for this year from 280,000 to 330,000.
Citing the job creation figure for June, Bahk told a policy coordination meeting earlier in the day that it was an "unexpected" surprise, proving that the nation's labor market situations keep improving much faster than projected.
Behind the improvement in labor market conditions lies strong exports, which appear to be underpinning the ongoing economic recovery, experts said. Last month, the nation's shipments expanded 14.5 percent from a year earlier to US$48.2 billion.
Strong exports and rebounding consumption also drove up production. The nation's industrial output expanded 8.3 percent in May from a year earlier, marking the 23rd straight month of on-year expansion.
Inflation, however, cast a shadow on the overall economic situations amid concerns that higher prices could reduce real income and dampen consumption, a key part of the nation's economic growth.
Consumer prices rose 4.4 percent last month from a year earlier, staying above the government's renewed inflation target of 4 percent for the sixth straight month. The government said that it will place its policy priority on price stability along with job creation for the remainder of the year.
