The presidential office has downplayed concerns over worsening job figures, saying job creation policies should be evaluated over the long haul.  

Lee Ho-seung, an aide to President Moon Jae-in handling job creation initiatives, appeared in Cheong Wa Dae's social media on Friday to address recent statistical data that shows job growth fell to less than 80-thousand last month after hovering in the 100-thousand range for three straight months. 

Lee said temporary factors may have affected growth, adding there is still some progress on efforts to create jobs from a long-term perspective. He added the government will continue to make steady steps to improve the quality of jobs. 

Statistics Korea reported that 27-million-64-thousand people were employed last month, up by only 72-thousand from the same month a year earlier. It is the lowest on-year growth in eight years and four months since the number of jobs contracted by ten-thousand in January of 2010. 

Lee partly attributed the glum figures to a drop in the working-age population, which shrank by around 70-thousand to 80-thousand from last year, as well as the slump in the local shipbuilding and auto industries.