By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

The unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent in July, up 0.3 percentage point from a month ago, to mark the first jump in five months as a record number of construction workers were unable to find job.


The National Statistical Office (NSO) said Thursday that a total of 814,000 people were out of work last month, up 51,000 people from June, to record 3.5 percent in the jobless rate.
The jobless rate crept up 0.1 percentage point from a year ago. For four straight months to June, the jobless rate had fallen.

After adjusting for inflation, the jobless rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 3.6 percent, marking the highest rate since last November, the NSO said.

The rise in the jobless figure was attributed to the on-going economic slowdown, in which more people have begun searching for a job with only few new openings available in the job market.

The labor force participation rate amounted to 62.4 percent in July, up 0.2 percentage point from a year ago. It edged down 0.1 percentage point from June.

A reduction of jobs in construction and agricultural sectors also contributed to the fall, the NSO said. The construction industry cut 79,000 jobs in July, the first reduction in 34 months, due to heavy rains and the anti-real estate speculation. The agriculture industry shed 65,000 jobs.

By age group, the unemployment rate for people in their 30s, considered to be the major engine of the economy, jumped 0.4 percentage point to 3 percent, the highest mark since last October.

The figure for people in their 40s also gained 0.3 percentage point to 2.1 percent, while that for those in their 50s marked 0.2 percentage point to 2.2 percent. Those in their 60s or over gained also added 0.2 percentage point to 1.1 percent.

The rate for people aged 15-29 years made a U-turn from the past two months of straight increase with a 0.2-percentage point fall to 7.6 percent in July, the lowest this year.

The number of people employed stood at 22.7 million in July, down 72,000 from June. Of them, regular workers decreased 37,000 to account for 50.2 percent.

According to standards set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which surveys people who have been unable to find a job after searching for one month, the overall jobless rate soared 0.3 percentage point to 3.7 percent in July from June, up by 66,000 with 865,000 out of work.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr