Anchor: Job growth was up by more than 450-thousand people in April year-on-year with those in their 50s and 60s leading the way. Our Kim Soyon has more.

Report: Statistics Korea announced Wednesday that 24-point-seven million South Koreans were working last month, up 455-thousand year-on-year.

Last month's job growth drove up the employment rate by four tenths of a percentage point year-on-year to 64-point-four percent.

The number of people without jobs fell roughly 41-thousand last month to stand at 895-thousand, cutting the unemployment rate from three-point-seven percent last year to three-point-five percent.

By age group, people in their 50s and 60s led job growth.

Meanwhile, due to the nation's dwindling population, new jobs among 30-year-olds fell 75-thousand, while job growth stagnated for Koreans in their 20s.

By industry, the services sector added 311-thousand more jobs last month year-on-year, while the manufacturing sector, the main provider of jobs in Korea, lost 80-thousand jobs.

The number of self-employed people grew 163-thousand.

Experts say the increase in the number of self-employed people shows that retired baby boomers continue to seek jobs in self-owned businesses or temporary posts.

Kim Soyon, KBS World Radio News.