S. Korea adds 597,000 jobs for wage workers in Q3 on booming welfare, construction sectors

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea added 597,000 jobs for wage workers in the third quarter of 2022, data showed Friday, led by higher demand from the welfare, construction and manufacturing sectors.

The number of paying jobs came to 20.19 million in the July-September period, up from 19.59 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

By sector, jobs in the health and social welfare segment advanced 102,000, followed by the construction and manufacturing industries with 99,000 and 74,000, respectively, the data showed.

The accommodation and restaurant sector also reported 66,000 additional jobs, as the country returned to pre-pandemic normalcy.

By gender, the number of jobs for men rose by 258,000, and for women, it increased by 339,000, the data showed.

By age, the number of jobs for salaried workers rose in all age groups, although those for people in their 60s and above took up the majority with 312,000.

The number of jobs for people in their 50s advanced 188,000, while those for those in their 30s and 20s edged up 27,000 and 6,000, respectively.

Asia's No. 4 economy, meanwhile, added jobs for the 23rd consecutive month in January, but the growth has been slowing for eight months in a row.

On Thursday, South Korea's central bank kept the benchmark interest rate steady at 3.5 percent, unchanged for the first time in 10 months, amid growing concerns that aggressive monetary tightening could hurt economic growth.

colin@yna.co.kr
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