South Korea's jobless rate rose above 3 percent in January for the first time in five months, but job growth quickened thanks in part to a hike in the manufacturing sector, a government report showed Wednesday.
According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up from the previous month's 2.9 percent. The rate rose above 3 percent for the first time since August.
Job creation, however, accelerated. About 322,000 jobs were created last month compared with a year earlier, up from 277,000 jobs registered in December, the report showed.
"Despite decreases in the wholesale, retail and construction sectors, increasing jobs available in manufacturing, and the health and social welfare service areas brought the on-year job creation figure back to the 300,000 range," the agency said.