S. Korea's job additions hit 22-year high in 2022 on pandemic recovery

Economy 08:07 January 11, 2023

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported the largest job additions in more than 20 years in 2022, data showed Wednesday, as the country gradually returned to pre-pandemic normalcy.

The number of employed people rose 816,000 in 2022 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the largest number since 2000, when the nation reported an on-year increase of 882,000 jobs.

Last year's reading also marked a significant rise from the 370,000 growth tallied in 2021.

In December, the country added 509,000 jobs, the data also showed.

South Korea added jobs for the 22nd straight month in December, but the growth continued to slow for the seventh month in a row amid concerns over an economic recession.

The latest data came amid the Bank of Korea's aggressive monetary tightening aimed at taming inflation. A hike in borrowing costs typically weighs down employment as businesses and households cut their spending.

The central bank has raised its benchmark policy rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points since August 2021 to the current 3.25 percent to bring inflation down.