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The first jobs figures released since President Park Geun-hye took office don't look very
positive.
The latest data shows the slowest growth in employment in three years and a youth unemployment
rate that's at a 23-month high.
Our economics correspondent Kim Han-ul has more.
President Park Geun-hye has pledged to bring up the national employment rate to the 70-percent
level, but the latest jobs figures show that there's a lot of work to be done.
According to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the employment rate for February
hit a 12-month low at 57-point-2 percent, which is 0-point-3 percentage points lower
compared to the same month last year.
Although more Koreans found jobs in February this year, compared to the same month last
year the margin of the increase was the smallest in three years.
Officials from Statistics Korea explained that the reason for the sluggish growth in
the employment data was related to the two-day Lunar New Year holiday in February, which
happened to fall during the monthly economic survey period.
But things are looking even gloomier for Korea's young people.
The unemployment rate for Koreans between the ages of 15 and 29 last month was 9-point-1
percent, the worst in 23 months.
A Statistics Korea official cites school holidays and job seeking season during the month of
February as reasons for the high youth unemployment rate.
The official added that people are finding jobs at an increasingly slower pace and the
number of temporary jobs declined in February, with many of those jobs held by young people.
Analysts believe things will get better in March, but not by a huge margin, since the
number of entrepreneurs that led job growth last year is on a downward trend.
Kim Han-ul, Arirang News.