SEOUL, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Job growth in South Korea posted the highest in 15 months thanks to employment in the services and construction sectors that offset job cuts among manufacturers, a government report showed on Wednesday.
The number of those employed stood at 26,267,000 in March, up 466,000 from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. It was the biggest increase since December 2015.
Wholesale and retail companies and builders added 116,000 and 164,000 jobs each, offsetting an 83,000 job slide in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers cut jobs since July last year amid global economic slowdown.
Among those aged 60 or higher, 272,000 jobs were added. Job creation for those in their 50s and 20s expanded by 199,000 and 34,000 each, but the figures among those in their 30s and 40s declined 9,000 and 43,000 each.
The hiring rate was 60.2 percent in March, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier. The employment rate for those aged 15-64 rose 1 percentage point to 66.1 percent last month.
The number of those unemployed was 1,143,000 in March, down 12,000 from a year ago. The jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point over the year to 4.2 percent last month.
The youth unemployment rate among those aged 15-29 declined 0.5 percentage points to 11.3 percent in March.
