Report: The number of people with jobs grew by more than 400-thousand for the second consecutive month in April. However, the number of people with good-quality jobs in the manufacturing sector shrank for the tenth straight month and youth unemployment posted a record high.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: According to employment trends released by Statistics Korea on Thursday, a total of 26-million-577-thousand people were employed across the country in April, up 424-thousand from a year ago.
 
April marked the second consecutive month for the number of people with jobs to surge by more than 400-thousand. Growth was particularly prevalent in construction, education services, real estate and wholesale industries.
 
However, the number of people with relatively good quality jobs in the manufacturing sector slipped by 62-thousand year-on-year in April, posting a decline for the tenth consecutive month.
 
The number of self-employed people climbed by 105-thousand, witnessing growth for the ninth straight month, as more and more people who lost their jobs due to restructuring became self-employed.
 
Though the number of those employed grew, the number of jobless people also surged.
 
In April, around one-point-17 million people were estimated to be jobless, or up 99-thousand from the same period last year. The jobless figure is the highest on record to be posted for the month of April.
 
The unemployment rate for young job seekers aged 15 to 29 rose by three-tenths of a percentage point to eleven-point-two percent, the highest level for the month of April since the agency began to compile related data in June of 1999.
 
A youth unemployment rate that takes into account people who are looking for jobs while currently in a part-time job reached 23-point-six percent.
 
The statistics agency assessed that areas where young people hope to land jobs in, including manufacturing industries and jobs that require certain expertise, saw low hiring of youths.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.