The employment rate in May increased to around 70%, but the growth rate retreated to the 80,000 range.

Statistics Korea announces May employment trends
Employment rate continues to rise… Surpasses 70% mark
Growth momentum slows down to 80,000 range… Lowest in 39 months

[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Jung Byung-hyuk = Office workers are moving in front of Seoul City Hall. jhope@newsis.com /Photo=newsis
, ‘[Financial News] In May, the employment rate reached the 70% range for the first time, setting a record high. Unlike the continuous increase in employment, the growth momentum slowed back down to the 80,000 range from the previous month. The increase of 80,000 employed individuals is the smallest in 39 months since February 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.’,

, ‘According to the ‘May Employment Trends’ released by Statistics Korea on the 12th, the number of employed individuals aged 15 to 64 in the previous month was 24.99 million, with an employment rate of 70%. Both in terms of ratio and scale, this is the highest level ever recorded in statistical reporting history.’,

, ‘Despite the positive employment rate, the increase in employed individuals was limited to 80,000 more compared to a year ago. The number of employed individuals, which had maintained in the 300,000 range in January and February of this year, dropped to an increase of 173,000 in March and then bounced back to the 200,000 range after 3 months. Just a month after breaking away from the slowdown, the growth momentum has narrowed again.’,

, ‘By age group, there is a clear decline in employment among the youth (ages 15-29). Employment decreased by 173,000 compared to the same period last year, leading to a 0.7 percentage point drop in the employment rate.’,

, ‘In particular, the number of employed individuals decreased by 168,000 in their 20s, which corresponds to the period of social rookie years. There was also a decrease of 114,000 employed individuals in their 40s.’,

, ‘The increase was driven by employed individuals in the elderly age group. Those aged 60 and above increased by 265,000, recording the highest growth rate among all age groups. In their 30s and 50s, there were increases of 74,000 and 27,000 employed individuals, respectively.’,

, ‘By industry, there is a gradual recovery in the service industry. Employment increased in the construction and social welfare services sector by 94,000 (3.2%), accommodation and food service sector by 80,000 (3.5%), and transportation and warehousing sector by 49,000 (3.0%).’,

, ‘The manufacturing sector saw a slower increase at 38,000 (0.8%) in May compared to a previous increase of 100,000. Due to weak domestic demand, wholesale and retail trade decreased by 73,000 (-2.2%). The construction industry, which is not doing well economically, also saw a decrease of 47,000 (-2.2%). Business facility management, business support, and rental services reduced employment by 64,000 (-4.4%), and the real estate industry also decreased by 6,000 (-1.1%).’,

, ‘The number of unemployed individuals increased by 97,000, marking the largest increase since the previous month (81,000). This level of increase is the highest since February 2021 (201,000). The number of unemployed individuals has been increasing for 7 consecutive months since November last year.’,

, ‘The unemployment rate rose to 3.0%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to a year ago.\n’]