S. Korea's jobless rate unchanged at 3.8 pct in May

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By Koh Byung-joon
SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unemployment rate remained unchanged in
May but the pace of job losses accelerated at the fastest pace in more than a
decade amid a protracted economic slowdown, a government report showed Wednesday.

The jobless rate stood at 3.8 percent last month, unchanged from the previous
month, according to the report by the National Statistical Office (NSO). It is
slightly higher than a median forecast of 3.7 percent in a poll by Yonhap
Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
Job reduction, however, accelerated. A total of 219,000 works were eliminated
from payrolls last month compared with a year earlier, when 188,000 positions
were lost. The May figure is the steepest decline since March 1999.
"Employment conditions are showing few signs of marked improvement," Jeong
In-sook, head of the NSO's employment statistics division, told reporters.
The latest job market data dampened recently budding optimism that the worst of
the economic downturn might be over or nearing to an end, with many other
indicators showing signs of stabilization.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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