Despite the government's efforts to boost the job market, the latest employment report shows the overall situation in South Korea remains desperately grim for jobseekers
Ko Roon-hee reports.

More doom and gloom for jobseekers in South Korea... as the latest government figures paint a bleak picture for their prospects.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the overall unemployment rate for last month was four-and-a-half percent.
It's the highest figure for the month of January since 2010 when South Korea was struggling in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Statistics Korea attributed the high figure to the increase in the number of unemployed...or people without paid jobs who are actively seeking work.
The agency added that one of the main recruitment seasons in South Korea is during January and February,... meaning more people were classified as 'unemployed.'

Overall, around 26-point-2 million people were employed in South Korea in January.
Only 19-thousand new jobs were added on-year last month, the smallest on-year increase since August 2018.
This figure is significantly lower than figures from 2017...when it jumped by more than 200-thousand every month.

Statistics Korea said the number of jobs decreased in the manufacturing, business facilities management and wholesale and retail sectors...but went up in fields like health and social activities.
Analysts say measures to boost the manufacturing industry are necessary... because the sector is the main driver of South Korea's economic growth.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.