Increased Employment

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Next up we have some very encouraging job figures in a very long time...The number of employed people rose by more than 260-thousand last month year-on-year, marking the steepest hike in 13 months. But most of the added jobs were for senior citizens in the public services sector, while manufacturing jobs for younger people still remain sluggish. Here's more.

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The latest improved job figures mainly result from increased employment in the health and social welfare services sector. Some 237-thousand jobs were added in this field in February, compared to the same month last year. The biggest contributor was the government push to create jobs, especially for senior citizens. So far this year, government agencies and public organizations created 250-thousand jobs for seniors and this effort was reflected in last month's employment tally.

[Soundbite] Jeong Dong-wuk(Statistics Korea) : "Job data in public administration and health and welfare sectors show, job seekers who applied for the senior employment project are believed to have mostly landed jobs."

In contrast, the number of employed in the manufacturing sector, the main force behind the Korean economy, dropped by more than 150-thousand last month, continuing a losing streak for the 11th month. Increases reported in the past months in the number of employed people in retail and wholesale, finance and construction headed south again in February. By age group, the number of employed seniors aged 60 and up rose by 397-thousand, marking the largest increase to date. However, the number of employed breadwinners, mostly those in their 30s and 40s, fell by more than 240-thousand. Even when taking into account the trend of an aging society and overall population decrease, the employment rate among those in this age bracket paints a grim picture. This is why job seekers say the latest job figures announced are a far cry from the actual employment situation.