SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) — The number of employed people in South Korea decreased for the fourth consecutive month in July, according to data from Statistics Korea.
The number of employed people totaled 28.68 million last month, representing a decrease of 211,000 from the same period the previous year.
The unemployment rate in July was 2.7 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year.
The number of employed people in South Korea had been decreasing for nine consecutive months from February to April, before increasing 469,000 from the previous year in March. However, the growth has been slowing since then.
The Bank of Korea kept the key interest rate at 3.5 percent for four consecutive months prior to July. Before that, the central bank had increased the rate seven times from April 2022 to January 2023.
Higher borrowing costs usually lead to lower employment, as businesses and individuals reduce their spending.
This file photo taken July 3, 2023, shows an interviewee holding a resume at a job fair in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
(END)