245,000 jobs added on-year for S. Korea while service sector employment struggles at COVID-19 levels

For the first time in over a year, employment expanded in South Korea by over 200-thousand in May.

But the expansion was uneven depending on the sector.

Our Kim Do-yeon has this report.

South Korea saw the largest increase in employment in 13 months, rising for a fifth consecutive month in May.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people aged 15 or older in May reached 29-point-1-6 million, up 245 thousand compared to the same period last year.

Though the trend had been an incline recently, it's also the first time in over a year the figure went past 200-thousand mark.

The same sectors continue to lead the incline, with the same sectors also seeing declines.

"By industry, employment increased in sectors such as healthcare and social welfare services, professional, scientific and technical services, and finance and insurance. However, it declined year-on-year in sectors including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, construction, and manufacturing."

In fact, the manufacturing sector saw a decline of 67-thousand jobs on-year a smaller decline compared to past months, attributing to overall growth.

On the other hand, the accommodation and restaurant industry saw for the first time a decline in employment in over a year.

The number of employees in the industry dropped by 67-thousand compared to a year ago, marking the first decline in 15 months.

The decrease is the largest since November 2021, when COVID-19 was in full swing, with a drop of 86-thousand.

However, there's hope as a supplementary budget is expected with the new Lee Jae-myung administration and the ruling Democratic Party holding majority to support President Lee's motivation.

Local currencies or universal cash distribution seem to be the options.

"Providing payments in the form of local currency can help boost the regional economy, so we could see a temporary increase in spending—particularly in sectors like services, lodging, and dining—which may lead to a slight uptick in employment."

In the meantime for the first time ever, South Korea's workforce aged 60 and over has surpassed 7 million.

This comes as younger age groups—except those in their 30s—saw employment declines.

With more seniors staying in the labor market amid a rapidly aging population,

the overall employment rate for those 15 and older rose to 63-point-8 percent, up point-3 percentage points from a year ago.

Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.