January sees job growth in S. Korea, but record drop for construction jobs

Job growth in South Korea perked back up in the first month of the year, but some sectors saw big declines.

Data from Statistics Korea on Friday showed that there were 27-point-8 million people in employment in January a rise of some 135 thousand from the same month the year before.

This is due to jobs being added in healthcare and welfare, as well as professional, scientific, and technical services.

However, jobs in construction saw the biggest decline since data collection began due to a slump in the construction sector, alongside a drop in manufacturing jobs despite booming semiconductor exports.