South Korea added 63,000 jobs in June from a year earlier, marking the first rebound in two months. Manufacturing sector jobs continued to decline.
Government data showed the number of employed people reached 29.15 million in June, up from 29.09 million a year earlier. The jobless rate stayed at 2.8 percent, with 834,000 unemployed.
The health and social welfare services sector gained 214,000 jobs, while arts, sports and recreation added 55,000 and transportation and logistics added 48,000. Manufacturing lost 97,000 jobs, agriculture shed 95,000 and construction fell by 67,000.
Manufacturing jobs have now declined for 24 straight months and construction for 26 months. The number of economically inactive people rose by 181,000. Bin said consumer sentiment recovered somewhat after cash handouts to ease high fuel costs.
