The number of temporary employees in South Korea fell to 4.19 million in February 2021, down 7.0% when compared to the same period last year, according to data published by Statistics Korea.

The 7.0% decrease was an improvement over January’s 12.7% decrease.

When compared to the previous month, the number of temporary employees in South Korea increased by 8.5% in January 2020.

Statistics Korea also published labour market figures for February 2021. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9%, up 0.8% year-on-year. When compared to January, the rate was down by 0.8%.

The number of unemployed persons totalled 1.35 million people in February, which increased 201,000 persons or 17.4% year-on-year.

At the same time, the number of employed persons totalled 26.36 million persons in February, which went down 473,000, or 1.8% year-on-year.

The labour force participation rate stood at 61.6% in February, down 1.0% year-on-year.

The economically active population stood at 27.71 million in February, which decreased by 273,000 persons or 1.0% year-on-year.

Among sectors, the wholesale & retail trade, accommodation & food saw the biggest employment decline at 7.3% when compared to the previous year. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector saw the biggest gain at 2.7% year-on-year.