SEOUL: South Korea's unemployment rate fell slightly to 2.9 percent in November, as healthcare and other service industries added more jobs, official data showed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate compared to 3.0 percent posted in October and 3.0 percent in the same period a year earlier, the state-run Statistics Korea said.
Unadjusted, the figure stood at 2.7 percent in November.
The total number of employed stood at 25.53 million, up by 588,000 from a year ago.
Healthcare and social services industries added 210,800 new jobs compared to a year ago, and accommodation and restaurant industries gained 133,000 jobs.
But the farming and fisheries sector shed 31,000 jobs while the construction industry lost 18,000 positions, the agency said in a statement.
Youth unemployment, of those aged 15 to 29, remained relatively high at 7.5 percent but lower than nations like the US or France where the figures stand at 13.1 percent and 27.9 percent respectively, it said. - AFP
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