(KPL/Yonhap) Republic of Korea added more than 310,000 jobs in September, posting the largest on-year growth in 19 months, driven by employment in the service sector following the government's stimulus package, data showed Friday.

The number of employed people stood at 29.15 million last month, up 312,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The September figure highlights a continued upward trend in employment following a brief contraction in December, when the country saw a net loss of 52,000 positions. It also marks the sharpest on-year growth since February 2024, when the country added 329,000 jobs.

This year, the labor market has been gradually recovering, adding 245,000 jobs in May before slightly easing to 183,000 in June, 171,000 in July and 166,000 jobs in August.

"The number of employed people increased by more than 300,000 as employment in the wholesale and retail industry and the accommodation and food services sector turned to growth," said Gong Mi-sook, a ministry official. "It appears that the issuance of consumption and cultural coupons had a positive impact."

The government issued two rounds of cash handouts, called "consumption coupons," in recent months to stimulate private consumption and revitalize the economy.

The service sector showed robust growth in employment, with the wholesale and retail industry adding 28,000 jobs in September to record the biggest on-year growth since November 2017.

Employment in the accommodation and restaurant industry rose by 26,000, the largest growth since March.

Jobs in the arts, sports and leisure sector expanded by 75,000.

However, employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors continued to decline amid trade uncertainties sparked by U.S. tariffs, signaling persistent weakness in key industries.

The manufacturing industry shed 61,000 jobs in September, marking the 15th consecutive month of on-year decrease, while the construction industry lost 84,000 jobs.

Employment in the agro-fisheries sector went down by 146,000, the sharpest drop since November 2015, due to abnormal weather conditions.

By age, employment for those aged 60 years and older jumped 341,000 from a year earlier, and jobs for people in their 30s went up by 133,000, the largest growth since July 2000, when the country added 141,000 jobs for the age group.

On the other hand, jobs for those in their 20s fell by 134,000, while employment among those in their 40s and 50s decreased by 45,000 and 11,000, respectively.

The employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 increased 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier to 70.4 percent last month, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15 to 29 dropped 0.7 percentage point to 45.1 percent, down for the 17th consecutive month.

The overall jobless rate remained unchanged at 2.1 percent, with the number of unemployed people rising by 12,000 to 635,000.

The youth jobless rate came in at 4.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier.

The number of economically inactive people decreased by 116,000 to 16 million as of end-September, the largest drop since April last year, the data showed.

KPL