The jobs picture is not so rosy for Korea.... despite the fact that it added more jobs in February,... the number of unemployed also swelled.
Kim Hyesung has the details.
The number of newly-employed people in February increased by more than 260-thousand on-year.
That's the biggest increase in 13 months, when 334-thousand new jobs were added in January 2018.
According to Statistics Korea, public sector jobs and agricultural jobs for the elderly increased sharply.
237-thousand jobs were added in the health and social welfare public sector jobs last month, up 13 percent on-year.
That's also the highest figure since Statistics Korea began recording the figure in 2015.
The agricultural sector added 117-thousand new jobs, up 12 percent on-year.
On the other hand, the manufacturing sector lost over 150-thousand jobs last month.
The retail and wholesale sector also shed 60-thousand jobs...continuing a downward trend that has lasted more than a year.
By age group, those over 60 saw the biggest jump in new jobs, adding nearly 400-thousand...whereas those in their 30s and 40s lost around 24-thousand jobs.
The number of unemployed in South Korea continued to increase, reaching one-point-three million people in February, up 38-thousand compared to the same month last year.
The overall unemployment rate hit four-point-seven percent in February.
The unemployment rate for young people-- those aged between 15 and 29 -- was double that figure... at nine-and-a-half percent.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.