ID :
34877
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 15:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34877
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea`s jobless rate rises to 3.1 pct in Nov.
(ATTN: ADDS details from 4th para)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate inched up in November with job creation slumping to a 5-year low as companies refrained from hiring amid a bleak economic outlook, a government report showed Wednesday.
The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent last month, up from the previous month's 3
percent, according to the report by the National Statistical Office. The figure
is in line with a median forecast in a poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the
financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
The economy generated 78,000 new jobs in November compared with a year earlier,
decelerating from 97,000 created the previous month. Job growth was at the lowest
level since December 2003 when 44,000 jobs were created, according to the office.
"With concerns over a global economic recession spreading, companies remained
reluctant to hire more workers with some of them planning to slash their payrolls
for fear of worsening business conditions," said Lee Sun-yup, an analyst at
Goodmorning Shinhan Securities. "Slumping exports and ongoing efforts on
corporate restructuring are feared to further dampen job markets."
Job growth has been one of the top priorities for the government of President Lee
Myung-bak, who took office in February. Lee has said he aims to create around
200,000 new jobs annually.
The task, however, is becoming increasingly daunting as domestic consumption and
exports, two pillars of the nation's economic growth, are cooling at a
faster-than-expected pace.
The public and private sector are pushing for corporate restructuring in a
desperate effort to enhance their business efficiency in the face of worsening
business conditions.
The government recently ordered state-run firms to propose new measures to
streamline operations, including payroll reduction plans, according to media
reports. The nation's power monopoly, Korea Electric Power Corp., is also
considering cutting its payroll by 10 percent -- around 2,000 employees -- over
the next three years.
On Tuesday, Vice Finance Minister Bae Kook-hwan said on a local radio program
that job-loss is an "inevitable" part of the process of improving efficiency of
public-sector management.
Private-sector companies are also consider freezing their payrolls. According to
a survey, seven out of every 10 small and medium-sized companies said they have
no plans to hire workers next year, citing an accelerating downturn in domestic
demand.
South Korea's economic growth is cooling at a marked pace, slammed by anemic
domestic demand and slumping export growth.
Sales of consumer goods in October fell 3.7 percent from a year earlier mainly
due to reduced spending on gasoline and clothes. The drop is sharper than the
previous month when sales declined 1.8 percent, according to the report.
Exports, the backbone of the nation's economy, also saw sharp declines in growth.
The report showed that the nation's November exports plunged 18.3 percent from a
year earlier, the steepest fall since February 2002.
Major global investment banks lowered their 2009 growth projections for South
Korea to an average of 1.2 percent. The outlook is far below the government's
4-percent forecast on which the nation's 2009 budget plan was crafted.
South Korea's gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from
three months earlier, the slowest pace in four years, according to the Bank of
Korea (BOK), the nation's central bank.
The BOK is widely expected to lower its key interest rate when it meets on
Thursday in an apparent bid to stimulate the slowing local economy. The central
bank slashed its rate from 5.25 percent to 4 percent in less than a month since
October.
Analysts say that the November jobless report along with other dire economic
indicators will augment market demand for "more aggressive" monetary action by
the central bank.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate inched up in November with job creation slumping to a 5-year low as companies refrained from hiring amid a bleak economic outlook, a government report showed Wednesday.
The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent last month, up from the previous month's 3
percent, according to the report by the National Statistical Office. The figure
is in line with a median forecast in a poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the
financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
The economy generated 78,000 new jobs in November compared with a year earlier,
decelerating from 97,000 created the previous month. Job growth was at the lowest
level since December 2003 when 44,000 jobs were created, according to the office.
"With concerns over a global economic recession spreading, companies remained
reluctant to hire more workers with some of them planning to slash their payrolls
for fear of worsening business conditions," said Lee Sun-yup, an analyst at
Goodmorning Shinhan Securities. "Slumping exports and ongoing efforts on
corporate restructuring are feared to further dampen job markets."
Job growth has been one of the top priorities for the government of President Lee
Myung-bak, who took office in February. Lee has said he aims to create around
200,000 new jobs annually.
The task, however, is becoming increasingly daunting as domestic consumption and
exports, two pillars of the nation's economic growth, are cooling at a
faster-than-expected pace.
The public and private sector are pushing for corporate restructuring in a
desperate effort to enhance their business efficiency in the face of worsening
business conditions.
The government recently ordered state-run firms to propose new measures to
streamline operations, including payroll reduction plans, according to media
reports. The nation's power monopoly, Korea Electric Power Corp., is also
considering cutting its payroll by 10 percent -- around 2,000 employees -- over
the next three years.
On Tuesday, Vice Finance Minister Bae Kook-hwan said on a local radio program
that job-loss is an "inevitable" part of the process of improving efficiency of
public-sector management.
Private-sector companies are also consider freezing their payrolls. According to
a survey, seven out of every 10 small and medium-sized companies said they have
no plans to hire workers next year, citing an accelerating downturn in domestic
demand.
South Korea's economic growth is cooling at a marked pace, slammed by anemic
domestic demand and slumping export growth.
Sales of consumer goods in October fell 3.7 percent from a year earlier mainly
due to reduced spending on gasoline and clothes. The drop is sharper than the
previous month when sales declined 1.8 percent, according to the report.
Exports, the backbone of the nation's economy, also saw sharp declines in growth.
The report showed that the nation's November exports plunged 18.3 percent from a
year earlier, the steepest fall since February 2002.
Major global investment banks lowered their 2009 growth projections for South
Korea to an average of 1.2 percent. The outlook is far below the government's
4-percent forecast on which the nation's 2009 budget plan was crafted.
South Korea's gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter from
three months earlier, the slowest pace in four years, according to the Bank of
Korea (BOK), the nation's central bank.
The BOK is widely expected to lower its key interest rate when it meets on
Thursday in an apparent bid to stimulate the slowing local economy. The central
bank slashed its rate from 5.25 percent to 4 percent in less than a month since
October.
Analysts say that the November jobless report along with other dire economic
indicators will augment market demand for "more aggressive" monetary action by
the central bank.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
