SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment rose for the 10th straight month in October due to an increase in elderly jobs, statistical office data showed Wednesday.
The number of employed people aged 15 and older gained 193,000, or 0.7 percent, from a year earlier to 29,040,000 in October, continuing to grow since January, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The overall job growth was driven by the elderly. The number of jobs for those aged 60 and older expanded 334,000 in October on a yearly basis, and the figure for those in their 30s climbed 80,000.
Employment among those aged 15-29 dived 163,000, while jobs for those in their 40s and 50s reduced 38,000 and 19,000 each.
The number of jobs in the health and social welfare service, the arts, sports and leisure service, and the wholesale and retail sectors picked up 280,000, 70,000 and 46,000 each.
Employment among manufacturers diminished 51,000 in October compared to the same month of last year, keeping a downward trend for the 16th successive month.
Jobs lost in the construction industry reached 123,000, continuing to go down for the 18th consecutive month.
The number of regular and irregular employees went up 286,000 and 79,000 each, but the reading for daily laborers declined 55,000 last month.
The number of the self-employed who hired employees added 19,000, but the figure for the self-employed without workers dwindled 117,000.
Employment rate for those aged 15 and older increased 0.1 percentage point to 63.4 percent in October on a yearly basis, while the OECD-method hiring rate for those aged 15-64 mounted 0.3 percentage points to 70.1 percent.
The number of unemployed people totaled 658,000 in October, down 20,000 from a year ago. Unemployment rate slipped 0.1 percentage point to 2.2 percent.
The expanded jobless rate dipped 0.2 percentage points to 7.8 percent in the cited month, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 retreated 0.5 percentage points to 14.7 percent.
The official unemployment rate gauges those who are immediately available for work but failed to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to seek a job actively.
The expanded jobless rate, called labor underutilization indicator, adds those who are discouraged from searching for a job, those who work part-time against their will to work full-time, and those who prepare to get a job after college graduation, to the official unemployment rate.
The economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, grew 38,000 from a year earlier to 16,121,000 in October.
The reading for discouraged job seekers swelled 21,000 to 366,000 last month.
The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, was up 135,000 to 2,580,000 in the same month.
The take-a-rest group is considered important as it can include those who are too discouraged to seek a job for an extended period. ■
