SEOUL: South Korea’s unemployment rate declined to the lowest level in more than three years in October, even as hiring weakened from the previous month and young workers struggled to find jobs, highlighting an uneven recovery in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 2.5% from 2.6% in September, matching its lowest level since May 2023, according to data released Wednesday (Nov 11) by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Economists attributed the decline largely to people leaving the labour force, rather than a clear improvement in demand. The number of employed people fell by 50,000 from the previous month, while the number of unemployed declined by 29,000.
The figures underscore how South Korea’s semiconductor-driven boom has yet to translate into broader employment gains.
Surging demand for chips used in artificial intelligence has powered exports and lifted economic growth, tightening the labor market overall, but the benefits have largely bypassed labour-intensive industries and younger workers, with domestic demand remaining subdued. - Bloomberg
