S. Korea should continue to help firms hire workers: Korea Herald editorial

The number of manufacturing jobs in the country has continued to decline over the past decade. - AP

SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN): South Korea recorded the first net increase in employment in 13 months last month, in what government officials described as the latest sign that the laboUr market is improving after a year-long slump mainly caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of employed people reached 26.92 million in March, an increase of 314,000 from a year earlier, according to data released by Statistics Korea last week. Buoyed by the figures, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the job market was expected to continue to improve in April and beyond.