South Korea’s Jobless Rate Fell to 3.6% in September

By Seyoon Kim

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s unemployment rate fell for the second time in three months in September as the nation’s economy recovers from the global economic slump.

The jobless rate dropped to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent in August, the National Statistical office said today in Gwacheon, citing seasonally adjusted figures.

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung Hyun said yesterday gross domestic product may shrink by less than 1 percent this year, down from the government’s previous forecast of a 1.5 percent contraction. The economy expanded at the fastest pace in almost six years in the second quarter, leading a regional rebound with China and Singapore, and the Kospi stock index has risen more than 45 percent this year.

Exports fell at the slowest pace in 11 months in September and demand is likely to grow later this year, the government says. South Korean manufacturers’ confidence climbed to the highest level in two years as an improved global economic outlook made companies more confident about their sales.

The number of people self-employed or working in the public service sector rose 5.5 percent, today’s report showed. People employed in the manufacturing industry dropped 3 percent in September from a year earlier and jobs at retail outlets, hotels and restaurants fell 2.8 percent.

The unadjusted jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent, from 3.7 percent in August, today’s report showed.

South Korea’s central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 3.25 percentage points between last October and February, the most aggressive easing since it began setting a policy rate a decade ago. The government also increased spending this year to help cushion the economy from recession.

GDP expanded 2.6 percent in the second quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Seyoon Kim in Seoul at skim7@bloomberg.net