By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The number of new job offerings last month fell to a two-year low as companies continued to remain reluctant to hire new workers amid an uncertain economic outlook.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Monday, the number of employed totaled 23 million in January, up 235,000 from last year, falling short of the government's target of over 300,000 new jobs.
The number of newly created jobs fell to the lowest level since December 2005 when businesses offered 205,000 new positions. It also declined for the seventh consecutive month since June last year when 315,000 new workers entered the labor market, indicating business sentiment has become more pessimistic about economic conditions, weighed down by rising oil prices and a looming U.S. economic recession.
``The sluggish job growth stems from falling employment in the agricultural and fisheries sectors on seasonal factors. Also, domestic firms have become more cautious and unwilling to hire new workers on gloomier economic prospects amid a host of external negatives,'' an NSO official said.
By industry, the number of manufacturing workers declined by 30,000 in January from a year ago, while those engaging in the agricultural and fisheries sectors dropped 64,000. Workers in retail, wholesale and restaurant businesses also fell 37,000.
But public and private services sectors added 348,000 new workers to their payrolls, while hiring in the financial, transportation, telecom and electric power production and distribution sectors increased by 22,000.
The number of employed in their 20s and 30s fell by 84,000 and 14,000 from a year earlier, respectively. But the number of workers in their 50s increased by 270,000
Stagnant job growth pushed up the jobless rate to a nine-month high of 3.3 percent in January from 3.1 percent a month earlier.
The economically inactive population aged over 15 stood at 15.6 million, up 280,000 from a year earlier, because of a growing number of people preparing for employment.
They are classified as part of the economically inactive population because they are not directly engaged in job-hunting activities, according to the statistical office. But in reality, they fall into the category of job seekers and should be regarded as jobless, which would push up the country's unemployment rate substantially higher.
Those who study or train to acquire jobs in government agencies, public schools and large companies increased by 13.8 percent, or 69,000, last month from a year earlier.