518,000 Increase in Employed Persons in August... 6 Consecutive Months of Growth (Update)

Statistics Korea Announces 'August 2021 Employment Trends' on the 15th

[Asia Economy Reporters Son Seon-hee and Jang Se-hee] The number of employed people increased by 518,000 compared to a year ago last month, continuing a six-month streak of growth. However, the rate of increase slowed due to the impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19.

According to the 'August 2021 Employment Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 15th, the number of employed people last month was 27,603,000, an increase of 518,000 compared to the same month last year. The increase was slightly smaller than the previous month (+542,000).

Jung Dong-myung, Director of the Social Statistics Bureau at Statistics Korea, said, "The August employment trends show an increase in employed people due to strong exports and base effects," adding, "The number of unemployed and economically inactive people decreased, maintaining a pattern similar to July."

Due to social distancing measures related to COVID-19, the decrease in employment in face-to-face service industries was significant. The number of employees in wholesale and retail trade was 3,342,000, down by 113,000.

Self-employed individuals operating stores with employees also decreased by 61,000.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and over rose by 0.8 percentage points to 61.2%.

The employment rate for ages 15 to 64, the OECD comparison standard, was 66.9%, up 1.0 percentage point from a year ago.

The number of unemployed was 744,000, down 120,000 from a year ago.

The economically inactive population was 16,758,000, a decrease of 106,000 compared to the same month last year, marking six consecutive months of decline.