S.Korea's job growth hits 22-year high in January

South Korea's job growth hit the highest in almost 22 years last month on the low base effect and the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, showed data from Statistics Korea on Wednesday.

The number of those employed totaled 26,953,000 in January, up 1,135,000 from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It has been the highest increase in nearly 22 years since March 2000.

The rapid growth was mainly attributable to the low base effect. In January 2021, employment tumbled 982,000 on a yearly basis due to the negative effect from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's employment has continued to rise for the 11th consecutive month since March last year amid the recovery from the pandemic downturn, driven by solid export.

Employment grew in all age groups. The number of jobs among those aged 60 or higher jumped 522,000 in January from a year earlier, marking the fastest expansion in age groups.

The numbers for those in their 20s and 50s advanced 273,000 and 245,000 each, with the figures for those in their 30s and 40s rising 22,000 and 24,000, respectively.

By industry, the number of jobs in the health and social welfare and the lodging and eatery sectors gained 250,000 and 128,000 each, while the reading in the transport and warehousing sector expanded 121,000 last month.

Employment among manufacturers added 66,000 in January compared to the same month of last year.

Jobs lost in the wholesale and retail and the finance and insurance segments stood at 56,000 and 15,000 respectively.

The number of regular and irregular employees increased 686,000 and 377,000 each, but the figure for daily laborers slumped 60,000 in the cited month.

The number of the self-employed who hired workers climbed 54,000 in January from a year earlier, and the reading for the self-employed without employees added 81,000.

The employment rate for those aged 15 or higher rose 2.2 percentage points over the year to 59.6 percent last month, and the hiring rate for those aged 15-64 hit a new record high of 67.7 percent.

The number of those unemployed declined 427,000 from a year earlier to 1,143,000 in January, posting the highest reduction in over 21 years since August 2000.

The unemployment rate retreated 1.6 percentage points to 4.1 percent last month.

The expanded jobless rate slipped 3.7 percent points to 13.1 percent, and the reading for those aged 15-29 dropped 7.5 percentage points to 19.7 percent in January.

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 adds those who are discouraged from searching 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, to the official jobless rate.

The economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, went down 476,000 over the year to 17,104,000 in January. It kept a downward trend for 11 straight months.

The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, shed 146,000 to 2,569,000 last month.

The reading for discouraged job seekers diminished 248,000 to 527,000 in the month.

The "take-a-rest" group is considered important as it can include those who are too discouraged to seek a job for an extended period.