Labor market weakens to worst since pandemic as manufacturing jobs plunge and youth employment keeps sliding A jobseeker reads notices on a job information bulletin board at a government employment and welfare support center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. (Im Se-jun/ The Korea Herald) The effects of prolonged conflict in the Middle East are rippling through South Korea's labor market, with employment falling for the first time in 17 months as manufacturers and young workers bear the brunt.According to government data on May employment trends released Thursday, the number of employed people aged 15 or older stood at 29.12 million, down 40,000 from a year earlier.The decline marked the first drop since December 2024, when employment fell by 52,000 as domestic sentiment cooled sharply in the aftermath of the emergency martial law declaration.In response, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol convened a labor-related ministerial meeting Thursday morning, expressing concern that "uncertainty in labor conditions has deepened due to the prolonged Middle East conflict" and calling for extra vigilance across related ministries.The employment rate also fell 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier to 63.3 percent, marking the steepest drop since February 2021, when the labor market was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.By sector, manufacturing posted the steepest fall, shedding 140,000 jobs and extending its decline for a 23rd straight month, with losses more than doubling from April. It was the sharpest drop in more than seven years since February 2019.The Ministry of Data and Statistics said higher oil prices and the broader fallout from prolonged Middle East tensions are beginning to filter through to Korea's labor market. While job losses widened in the food and automobile sectors, semiconductors do not account for a large share of employment, an official said during a briefing Thursday.Other sectors that also posted steep declines include agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which lost 121,000 jobs, and professional, scientific and technical services, which shed 89,000. The latter extended its decline for a sixth consecutive month.Youth employment also fell sharply, with the number of employed people aged 15 to 29 down 255,000 from a year earlier. It marked the steepest decline since January 2021, when the year-on-year fall reached 314,000 during the pandemic.Other indicators pointed to a cooling labor market: The number of unemployed people rose by 25,000 from a year earlier to 878,000, while the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 2.9 percent. The economically inactive population increased by 264,000, including a 47,000 rise in those who said they were "taking time off" from job-seeking.Koo said the government plans to train more than 1,000 skilled workers in advanced industries in the second half and review additional support for regions facing prolonged employment weakness, including their designation as employment crisis areas.