S. Korea reports largest job growth in almost 22 years in Jan.

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported the largest job growth in nearly 22 years in January in the latest sign that the country's economic recovery has continued despite the upsurge in COVID-19 cases, data showed Wednesday.

The number of employed people came to 26.95 million last month, up 1.14 million from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the largest job growth since March 2000, when the number of employed people increased 1.21 million on-year.

It also marked the 11th consecutive month of job additions since March last year.

The sharp rise in job growth was mainly attributable to a low base effect and the ongoing economic recovery, according to the statistics agency.

In January last year, the number of employed people declined 982,000 from a year earlier, the largest job loss in 22 years, due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's jobless rate fell 1.6 percentage points on-year to 4.1 percent last month.

Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 4 percent last year, the fastest growth in 11 years, on the back of robust exports.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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