South Korea's jobless rate drops

Seoul, April 12 (IANS) South Korea's jobless rate dropped to 3.7 percent last month from a year earlier as job creation kept its solid growth trend in the service industry, a government report showed Thursday.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent in March, down 0.6 percentage point from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea. From a month before, the rate dipped 0.5 percentage point, reported Xinhua.

The March drop was mainly attributed to persistent growth in job creation driven by the service sector as well as later-than-planned civil service exam that reduced the number of people who prepares for job-finding.

The economically inactive population expanded 206,000 in March from the previous year amid growing people who did not work due to housework and old age, but the number of people who prepare for job-searching decreased 38,000. The number for people who abandoned looking for jobs reduced 12,000 over the cited period, marking the eighth straight month of reduction.

The number of unemployed, who failed to land work despite job-hunting efforts, reached 945,000 last month, down 128,000 from a year earlier.

The finance ministry said the country's job growth trend would continue in April amid weakening economic slowdown, but it forecast that job creation would grow at a slower pace down the road.