eFM News

South Korea's unemployment rose by about 392,000 people in September amid continued fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

According to data by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate rose by 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3.6 percent last month, with the number of employed falling to 27.01 million.

It marked seven consecutive months of a decline in the number of employed -- just one month shy of the record eight months posted in 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Data also showed the employment rate for those aged between 15 and 64 reached 60.3 percent in September, down 1.2 percentage points on-year.

The unemployment rate for young adults aged 15 to 29 hit 8.9 percent, up 1.6 percentage points on-year.

Among the hardest hit were temporary workers, whose numbers plunged by 303,000.


The total number of unemployed in the country reached 1 million, up 116,000 on-year.

By industry, the accommodation and food service segment and the wholesale and retail sector each lost over 200,000 jobs.

In contrast, the social welfare sector gained 135,000 jobs while the construction industry added 55,000 jobs.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and top economic policymakers held a meeting to assess the employment situation and expressed particular concern over the rise in unemployment among young people.

The ministry, however, said the job market is expected to recover in October.