South Korea’s unemployment rate rises in October on falling exports, corporate restructuring

The unemployment rate in South Korea rose during the month of October, following a decline in exports amid ongoing corporate re-structuring in the highly labor-intensive businesses like shipbuilding that dragged down employment capability. Also, the rate of joblessness remained high among the young youth, which points to a lingering economic slump.

The unemployment rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 3.4 percent last month, compared with 3.1 percent tallied a year earlier, data released by Statistics Korea showed Wednesday. The number of employed people stood at 26.6 million in October, up 278,000 from a year earlier, staying below the 300,000 level for two months in a row.

The unemployment rate for young people, aged between 15 and 29, reached 8.5 percent last month, up from 7.4 percent recorded a year earlier but down from the previous month's 9.4 percent.

The manufacturing sector newly hired around 150,000 people every month throughout last year, with the number peaking at 191,000 in October last year. But the figure plunged to 20,000 in June and posted negative growth in July for the first time in 49 months.

Meanwhile, a recent boom in the housing market encouraged local builders to hire 59,000 more workers last month, while the accommodation and food service industry employed a new 105,000 people.