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Last year, job growth was the weakest it’s been in more than eight years. The government has prepared a set of measures to fight unemployment and allocate a supplementary budget.
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The primary factor behind the stalled jobs growth lies in the decreased number of hiring in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing jobs expanded by a mere 14,000 last month, 90,000 jobs fewer than the previous month. Restructuring at medium-sized shipbuilders and the business turmoil at GM Korea also contributed to the decrease. The unusually cold winter further exacerbated the situation in the job market. With fewer jobs for workers in their 50s and 60s in the construction and agricultural sectors, the number of unemployed has grown further. Job growth in the month of February fell under the 200,000-mark, the lowest in about eight years since January 2010, when the global financial crunch began. Youth unemployment is expected to get worse this month, as college graduates are also looking for jobs. The government has prepared a set of measures to fight youth unemployment and will decide on the supplementary budget.
