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.The country's jobless rate came to 2.9 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. The number of unemployed people totaled 878,000 in May, up 25,000 over the period.The employment rate for South Koreans aged 15 to 64 came to 70.2 percent in May, down 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier. That for seniors aged 65 and older, on the other hand, rose 0.5 percentage point to 41.6 percent. Visitors apply to participate in a job fair in the southeastern port city of Busan on June 9, 2026. (Yonhap) The employment rate for people aged 15 to 29 came to 43.8 percent, down 2.4 percentage points from a year earlier.By sector, the number of jobs in the health and social welfare services sector increased by 212,000 from a year earlier, while those in the arts, sports and recreation-related services sector rose by 44,000.Other major gainers included the transportation and logistics sector, which added 36,000 jobs.On the other hand, the manufacturing sector lost 140,000 jobs in May from a year earlier, while the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector shed 121,000 jobs.Jobs in the manufacturing sector fell from a year earlier for the 23rd consecutive month. The latest decline marked the steepest drop since a fall of 151,000 in February 2019."The number of jobs in the automobile and plastics industries lost ground. While the recent increase in exports has been led by chips, the industry does not account for a significant portion of the job market," Bin Hyun-joon, a senior statistics official, said.The science and technology services industry also lost 89,000 jobs.The number of economically inactive people rose by 264,000 from a year earlier. The number of people reporting that they were not working and simply resting increased by 47,000 to 2.43 million, according to the latest findings. (Yonhap)