Korea adds 209,000 jobs in September as health, finance drive gains

South Korea added 209,000 jobs in September from a year earlier, a 1.0 percent increase that lifted the number of people employed at businesses with at least one worker to 20.748 million, the labor ministry said Thursday.

The gain was driven by health and social welfare services, which added 113,000 positions, up 4.3 percent, along with finance and insurance, up 28,000, and professional, scientific and technical services, up 27,000. Jung Hyang-sook, who heads the ministry's labor market survey division, said the health and social welfare sector had the biggest influence on the increase in both regular and temporary workers, while the rise in other workers was concentrated in insurance sales.

"For finance and insurance, the increase was largely driven by other workers such as insurance agents," Jung said. "In professional, scientific and technical services, the growth was centered on research and development and professional services."

Regular employees rose 73,000, or 0.4 percent, to 17.311 million, while temporary and daily workers grew 123,000, or 6.3 percent, to 2.068 million. Other workers, those paid only by commission or working without wages to learn a trade, added 13,000, up 0.9 percent to 1.369 million.

Declines were concentrated in wholesale and retail, which lost 23,000 jobs, down 1.0 percent, construction, down 14,000, and arts, sports and leisure services, down 8,000, or 2.4 percent. Jung attributed the retail decline to the closure and temporary shutdown of large discount stores, a slide that has now run 30 months, and linked the construction drop to a sluggish building market and the completion of large projects.

Manufacturing, the largest sector by headcount at about 18 percent of all workers, added 14,000 jobs, extending its run of gains to nine months, though regular employees in the sector have now fallen for 14 straight months, Jung said. Within manufacturing, electronics, computers and communications equipment led gains at 9,000, followed by other transport equipment at 6,000 and industrial machinery repair at 5,000, while rubber and plastics and apparel each lost 3,000 jobs.

Smaller workplaces carried most of the hiring. Establishments with fewer than 300 employees added 150,000 jobs, up 0.9 percent, to 17.037 million, while those with 300 or more added 58,000, up 1.6 percent, to 3.711 million.

Among the non-manufacturing sectors, social welfare services added 79,000 positions, health care 34,000 and insurance 21,000, while retail lost 31,000, general construction 25,000 and sports and recreation services 9,000.

Hires and separations during the month were dominated by recruitment, which accounted for more than 90 percent of the total, while involuntary separations made up more than 60 percent of those who left jobs, Jung said.