Job-seekers look around at a job fair for positions in the environment industry, held at aT center in southern Seoul, May 19. Yonhap
South Korea lost 40,000 jobs in May from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday, marking the first decline in 17 months amid economic uncertainties in the wake of the prolonged Middle East conflict.
The number of employed people came to 29.12 million in May, compared with 29.16 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
It marked the first decrease since December 2024, when the number of jobs fell by 52,000 following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid, which dealt a blow to the South Korean economy.
Job growth had remained in the 200,000 range in February and March before slowing to 74,000 in April.
