SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of South Korea's wageworkers logged the lowest growth in the first quarter due to a sharp fall in the construction industry, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
The number of wage and salary worker jobs totaled 20,536,000 in the January-March quarter, up 15,000 compared to the same quarter of last year, according to Statistics Korea.
It was sharply down from an expansion of 153,000 in the previous quarter, marking the lowest increase since relevant data began to be compiled in 2018.
Jobs in the construction industry recorded the fastest slide of 154,000 in the first quarter on a yearly basis, keeping a downward trend for the sixth straight quarter since the fourth quarter of 2023.
Those in the manufacturing industry reduced 12,000 in the first quarter, marking the first fall in four years, and jobs in the wholesale and retail and the real estate sectors 8,000 and 5,000 each.
Jobs in the health and social welfare, the science and technology, and the transport and warehousing sectors gained ground in the cited quarter.
The number of paid workers for those aged 60 and older jumped 197,000 in the first quarter from a year ago, with the figures for those in their 30s and 50s going up 64,000 and 21,000, respectively.
However, the readings for those in their 40s and under-20s dropped 100,000 and 168,000 each. ■
