Job seekers look at a job posting board during the 2025 Marine and Fisheries Job Fair at BEXCO Exhibition Center II in Haeundae, Busan, Thursday morning. (Yonhap)
Job seekers look at a job posting board during the 2025 Marine and Fisheries Job Fair at BEXCO Exhibition Center II in Haeundae, Busan, Thursday morning. (Yonhap)

South Korea added nearly 170,000 jobs in August, marking the third consecutive month of over 100,000 employment growth, data showed Wednesday.

The number of employed people stood at 28.97 million last month, up 166,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The August figure highlights a continued upward trend in employment following a brief contraction in December, when the country saw a net loss of 52,000 positions.

Since then, the labor market has shown signs of modest recovery, adding 245,000 jobs in May before slightly easing to 183,000 in June and 171,000 in July.

August also marks the eighth consecutive month of on-year growth.

However, employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors continued to slump, signaling persistent weakness in key industries. The employment rate among younger age groups also showed a downward trend. (Yonhap)