SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of South Korea's wage workers logged the second-lowest growth in the second quarter due to a sharp fall in the construction industry, statistical office data showed Tuesday.
The number of wage and salary worker jobs totaled 20,950,000 in the April-June quarter, up 111,000 compared to the same quarter of last year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
It marked the second-lowest increase since relevant data began to be compiled in 2018, but it was higher than the lowest expansion of 15,000 in the January-March quarter.
Jobs in the construction industry dived 141,000 in the second quarter on a yearly basis, keeping a downward trend for the seventh straight quarter since the fourth quarter of 2023.
Those in the manufacturing industry reduced 13,000 in the second quarter after retreating 12,000 in the first quarter.
Jobs in the health and social welfare and the science and technology sectors grew 134,000 and 28,000 each in the cited quarter.
The number of paid workers for those aged 60 and older jumped 235,000 in the second quarter from a year earlier, with the figures for those in their 30s and 50s increasing 76,000 and 15,000, respectively.
However, the readings for those in their 40s and under-20s declined 80,000 and 135,000 each. ■
