(LEAD) Unemployment rate hits all-time low in August; job growth slows

(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 3-6; RECASTS headline, lead to highlight record low unemployment rate)

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unemployment rate hit an all-time low last month, but the pace of job growth slowed down for the third month in a row amid economic uncertainties, data showed Friday.

The number of employed people stood at 28.41 million in August, up 807,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It is the highest on-year rise for any August since 2000, when the country added 848,000 jobs from the previous year.

The country's job market has improved markedly after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of employed people constantly rising since March last year.

But the growth slowed down for the third consecutive month, from 935,000 jobs added in May to 841,000 jobs in June and to 826,000 jobs last month.

The country's jobless rate fell 0.5 percentage point on-year to 2.1 percent in August, the lowest level since the statistics agency adopted the current data compiling methods to analyze the job market in 1999.

The slowdown in the job growth came as South Korea is facing multiple economic challenges, such as high inflation and slowing growth, amid external uncertainties over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War and global monetary tightening.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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