Manufacturing jobs to fall below 4 mln this year: sources

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- The number of jobs in the manufacturing sector is
expected to fall below the 4 million mark this year as the global economic crunch
takes its toll on investment and consumption, government and central bank sources
said Wednesday.

The forecast by the National Statistical Office and the Bank of Korea reflects a
steady decrease in jobs in the sector that caused the number to drop to 4.07
million in 2008 from 4.11 million in 2007.
In December, there were 4.02 million people working in the manufacturing
industry, down 2.4 percent from 4.12 million the year before and the sharpest
drop since the 2.5 percent fall in November 2005.
Policymakers attributed the drop in manufacturing jobs to the weak global economy
that can hurt exports and may cause the country to post negative growth this
year. Roughly 80 percent of South Korea's exports are manufactured goods.
Other factors are the steady shifting of the country's manufacturing sector into
capital-intensive, high-tech fields and a higher proportion of information
technology (IT) companies, it said.
The value output by the manufacturing sector reached 249 trillion won in 2008, or
30 percent of South Korea's gross domestic product worth 818 trillion won.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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