SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) - South Korean manufacturers cut employees for seven straight months, raising concerns about the worsening labor market in addition to the lackluster consumer spending, a government report showed on Wednesday.
The number of those employed in the manufacturing industry declined 160,000 in January compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the seven consecutive month of decline and the biggest reduction in seven and a half years.
The protracted restructuring among troubled shipbuilders and shipping firms discouraged manufacturers from recruiting new employees.
The number of employees in all industries increased 243,000 in January from a year ago, the lowest increase since February last year.
Construction companies increased workers by 85,000 last month, but the transport sector reduced jobs by 37,000. The job creation in the restaurant and lodging sector rose 74,000 on a year basis.
Jobless rate added 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier to 3.8 percent in January, the highest in nine months. Those who failed to land a job reached 1.009 million in January, topping 1 million in nine months.
Unemployment rate among youths aged 15-29 declined 0.9 percentage points to 8.6 percent. The fall came from rising college graduates who are discouraged from seeking jobs amid the aggravating labor market conditions.
Growth in discouraged job-seekers and those who lost jobs are expected to weigh down further on the already struggling consumer spending, which was hit hard by political unrest.
Consumers refrained from spending money on uncertainties about the political sphere, caused by the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
