By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter

The number of private-sector employees increased in February for the first time in 15 months, raising hopes that the sluggish job market is about to turn around in line with an economic recovery.
However, analysts say it is too early to conclude whether the economy is showing signs of losing growth momentum.

According to Statistics Korea Sunday, the number of workers in the private-sector job market in February rose by 142,000 compared to the same period last year, the first increase since November 2008.

As a result, the number of total employees reached 22.9 million last month, up 125,000 from a year ago, the biggest jump since it posted a rise of 159,000 in August 2008.

The services industry led the trend as some 223,000 new employees joined the industry in February. The manufacturing industry also contributed to the increase by hiring 45,000 new workers over the same period.

However, the number of employees in the public sector decreased by 17,000 last month compared to the same period in 2009 as the government stopped a state-led job offering project from December to February. The temporary project provided 250,000 new positions to the jobless for six months from June 2009 to November.

The finance ministry said that it can be seen as a sign of a turnaround, given that the total number of employees increased without government support.

“Public stimulus measures sustained the job market last year, but now, the total number of employees has increased without such support. It is a good sign that the local job market is on a recovery track,” an official of the ministry said. “It is still cold in the overall market, but some hot air is coming in.”

The number of new job opportunities also spiked, suggesting the trend will continue for some time.
According to the Korea Employment Information Service, companies opened 133,000 new positions in January, up 82.8 percent from the same month in 2009.

However, analysts said it is premature to conclude that this will be an ongoing trend.
“It is too early to say that the job market has recovered completely. Nowadays, the pace of the economic upturn is slowing,” Samsung Economic Research Institute senior economist Kwon Soon-woo said.
“We need to wait two or three months more to figure out what is going on in the job market.”

Contrary to positive data in regards to the private job market, the nation's youth unemployment rate has risen to its highest level in a decade. According to Statistics Korea earlier this month, the jobless rate for those aged between 15 and 29 reached 10 percent in February, up from 9.3 percent in January. It was the highest mark since it hit 10.1 percent in February 2000, and 1.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

shosta@koreatimes.co.kr