Korea's jobless rate hits near 2-year high in December as people return to workforce

Korea's on-year employment grew at a slower pace in 2023, but the employment rate reached a record high, led by job gains for those in their 60s and in the caretaking and manufacturing sectors.

Job seekers look at job notices at an employment center in Mapo District, western Seoul. [NEWS1]

Korea's unemployment rate in December reached a near two-year high amid a rise in people joining or returning to the workforce.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent in December, higher than 2.8 percent in November and the highest since January 2022, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday. The labor participation rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 64.6 percent in December.

Korea's on-year employment grew at a slower pace in 2023, but the annual employment rate reached a record high, led by job gains for those in their 60s and in the caretaking sector.

The number of employed people rose 327,000 in 2023 from a year earlier, or 1.2 percent, to come to 28.41 million.

The number of jobs grew at a faster pace over the past two years amid the Covid-19 pandemic and added 816,000, or the largest number since 2000.

In 2023, jobs in the health and social work sector increased by 94,000, while jobs in the manufacturing sector increased by 10,000, a rebound after 12 months.

But jobs in the education service, real estate and agriculture and fishery sectors dropped by 35,000, 32,000 and 25,000, respectively.

"Increasing demand for caretaking has sustained the increase in employment," Statistics Korea official Seo Woon-ju said.

By occupation, professionals and related workers rose by 275,000 people, clerks rose by 166,000, and service workers rose by 80,000. Elementary workers, sales workers and equipment, machine operating and assembling workers decreased by 127,000, 112,000 and 62,000 people, respectively.

The employment rate of people aged 15-64 rose 0.7 percentage points on-year to 69.2 percent, the highest figure since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 1989.

People in their 60s led the increase in the overall employment rate, with 280,000 getting employed. There was an increase of 64,000 and 34,000 for people in their 30s and 50s, respectively. But people in their 20s with jobs dropped by 51,000 people, and people in their 40s with jobs also decreased by 19,000.

The number of people not seeking employment decreased by 190,000. Among such people, the number of those who could work but did not have a reason for not doing so fell by 124,000, with more in their 50s and 20s falling out of the category.

Hiring has logged on-year growth since March 2021, the data showed.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]