Despite the government's efforts to boost the job market, the latest employment report shows the overall situation in South Korea remains desperately grim for jobseekers<br />Ko Roon-hee reports.<br /> <br />More doom and gloom for jobseekers in South Korea... as the latest government figures paint a bleak picture for their prospects.<br /><br />According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the overall unemployment rate for last month was four-and-a-half percent.<br />It's the highest figure for the month of January since 2010 when South Korea was struggling in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.<br /><br />Statistics Korea attributed the high figure to the increase in the number of unemployed...or people without paid jobs who are actively seeking work.<br />The agency added that one of the main recruitment seasons in South Korea is during January and February,... meaning more people were classified as 'unemployed.' <br /><br />Overall, around 26-point-2 million people were employed in South Korea in January. <br />Only 19-thousand new jobs were added on-year last month, the smallest on-year increase since August 2018.<br />This figure is significantly lower than figures from 2017...when it jumped by more than 200-thousand every month.<br /><br />Statistics Korea said the number of jobs decreased in the manufacturing, business facilities management and wholesale and retail sectors...but went up in fields like health and social activities.<br />Analysts say measures to boost the manufacturing industry are necessary... because the sector is the main driver of South Korea's economic growth.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
