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By Yi Whan-woo
Korea added the lowest number of new jobs in two years in February, when the number of newly hired people aged below 60 fell by more than 100,000 from a year earlier in the face of a rapid population decline.
Statistics Korea announced, Wednesday, the total number of employed people amounted to 27.71 million last month, up 312,000 from a year earlier.
The year-on-year gain in February marked a slowdown in the growth rate of new jobs for the ninth consecutive month.
In particular, last month's gain was the slowest since February 2021 when the number of employed people dropped by 473,000 from the previous year.
Statistics Korea assessed February's decline in job growth to a high base effect from last year when the country was on a gradual course to ease social-distancing rules and job demand was growing.
The number of newly created jobs in February 2022 stood at 1.03 million.
Statistics Korea also assessed that an export slump and weakening private spending are hampering job growth.
It pointed out the number of new hires in the manufacturing sector dropped by 27,000 for the second consecutive month in February amid sluggish global demand for semiconductors, a key export item.
Statistics Korea said poor economic factors are "gradually yet persistently affecting the job market although the market as a whole is not in an ill condition at the moment."
The agency referred to the country reporting an all-time-high overall employment rate for any month of February on record at 61.1 percent in 2023.
Nevertheless, analysts said the employment rate should not be overestimated, considering overall job growth is driven mainly by those aged 60 and older.
A total of 413,000 jobs were added year-on-year in the age group, as compared to all other age groups combined in which 101,000 less people were hired from a year earlier.
The number of new jobs slid by 125,000 for those in their 20s or younger, marking a losing streak for the fourth month straight and also the sharpest decline since February 2021 when the number of new jobs decreased by 142,000 from a year before.
The number of new jobs dropped by 77,000 for those in their 40s, while the number increased by 24,000 for those in their 30s and 77,000 for those in their 50s.
Meanwhile, new jobs in February came mainly from the welfare, accommodation, restaurant and communication industries.
The welfare sector added 192,000 jobs, with the accommodation and restaurant industries hiring 176,000 more people.
With the world's lowest birthrate and growing aged population, the population in Korea peaked at 51.84 million in 2020. It shrank for the first time on record to 51.74 million in 2021 and is forecast to drop further to 38 million by 2070.
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