S. Korea`s jobless rate jumps to 4-year high in Feb.

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SEOUL, March 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate jumped to a four-year high
in February as companies scaled back recruitment in the face of deepening
recession woes, a government report showed Wednesday.
The unemployment rate was 3.9 percent last month, up from the previous month's
3.6 percent, according to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News
Agency, predicted 3.8 percent.
The February figure is the highest level since March 2005 when the jobless rate
stood at 4.1 percent.
Employers eliminated 142,000 jobs from their payrolls compared with a year
earlier, marking the largest reduction since September 2003, when 189,000 jobs
disappeared, the report showed.
Younger people were hardest hit, with the jobless rate among those aged between
15 and 29 standing at a four-year high of 8.7 percent.
"The job market usually remains sluggish in February when more college graduates
come out to find work," Jeong In-sook, head of the NSO's employment statistics
division, told reporters. "The construction and farming sectors hire fewer
workers due to seasonal factors, which also contributed to the hike."
The bleak labor market data comes as South Korea's economy is cooling at a
faster-than-expected pace as companies and households scale back investment and
spending in the face of a protracted global downturn.
According to the central bank, the nation's gross domestic product shrank 5.6
percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, the sharpest contraction
in more than a decade.
In February, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun predicted the economy will contract
2 percent in what could be the first recession in 11 years. He also expected
employers to shed around 200,000 jobs this year compared with a year earlier.
Buffeted by slowing demand at home and abroad, companies are scaling back
investment.
According to a recent poll by the Federation of Korean Industries, a major
business lobby group, the nation's top 600 companies plan to invest a combined
86.7 trillion won (US$61.3 billion) this year, down 2.5 percent from a year
earlier and marking the first decline in eight years.
The number of people who received jobless benefits also hit a monthly record-high
of 400,000 in February, costing the government around 310 billion won, the Labor
Ministry said in a report.
To turn things around, the government is rushing to unveil a raft of stimulus
measures, including tax cuts and fiscal spending. It is seeking an extra budget
estimated at around 30 trillion won to create jobs and bolter sluggish domestic
demand.
Job creation is one of the nation's top priorities. In January, the Finance
Minister announced the "green new deal," under which about 50 trillion won will
be invested to create nearly one million jobs in eco-friendly sectors.
On Sunday, the government said it will offer tax benefits not only to companies
but also to employees joining in "job sharing" efforts, under which firms cut the
salaries of existing employees and use the savings to maintain payrolls or boost
recruitment.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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