In March of this year, the number of employed persons increased by 193,000. After recording a decline in December of last year for the first time in about four years, it rebounded and continued to rise for three consecutive months. The increase in the number of employed persons was around 130,000 in January and February, but it rose to around 190,000 in March. The number of employed persons mainly increased in public administration, defense and social security administration, health and social welfare services.
According to the 'March Employment Trend' released by the Statistics Korea on the 9th, the number of employed persons last month was 28,589,000, an increase of 193,000 compared to a year earlier.
The sectors with an increase in the number of employed persons were health and social welfare services (212,000) and public administration, defense and social security administration (87,000). The finance and insurance sector also saw an increase of 65,000.
On the other hand, employment in the construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors continued to worsen. The number of employed persons in the construction sector decreased by 185,000 compared to the previous year, marking the largest decline since the 11th industrial classification in November 2013. The number of employed persons in construction has decreased for 11 consecutive months. The number of employed persons in manufacturing also fell by 112,000 compared to the previous year, marking a decline for nine consecutive months. In agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, the number of employed persons decreased by 79,000.
By age, the number of employed persons aged 60 and older increased by 365,000 compared to the previous year, greatly surpassing the overall increase in the number of employed persons (193,000). There was also an increase of 109,000 in the 30s. However, there were declines in the 15-29 age group (-206,000), 40s (-49,000), and 50s (-26,000).
Meanwhile, the employment rate for those aged 15 and older recorded 62.5%,an increase of 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. The employment rate for those aged 15-64, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) comparison, was 69.3%, rising by 0.2 percentage points. The number of unemployed was 918,000, an increase of 26,000 from a year earlier, and the unemployment rate was 3.1%, rising by 0.1 percentage points.
The economically inactive population was 16,201,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the previous year. Among them, the population that is capable of working but not seeking employment, referred to as "rested," increased by 71,000. The discouraged workers amounted to 354,000, a decrease of 36,000 from a year earlier.