(Photo: Yonhap News)
South Korea reported job losses for the 12th straight month in February as the coronavirus pandemic continued to deal a blow to the labor market.
Data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea showed the number of employed people reached 26.3 million last month, 473,000 fewer than a year earlier.
But the number of positions lost was much lower than the 982,000 recorded in January, when the jobless rate surged to the highest in 22 years.
February's unemployment rate reached 4.9 percent, up 0.8 percentage point on-year.
The coronavirus has pummeled the face-to-face service sectors, including hospitality and retailers, as people refrained from going out amid tougher social distancing measures and concerns about infection risks.
The latest figures highlight that the labor market still remains in limbo even as the South Korean economy is on a recovery track on brisk exports.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the job market is expected to recover in March on the back of the national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and further signs of economic recovery.
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