South Korea's job growth surpassed 560-thousand last month to hit the largest jump in five years and five months. 

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people reached 26-point-eight million in January, up 568-thousand from a year earlier. 

It marked the largest growth since August 2014, when it posted 670-thousand. The monthly on-year job growth posted over 500-thousand for the second consecutive month. 

The employment rate for those aged 15 or older reached 60 percent, the highest January figure since the country started compiling related monthly data in July 1982.

The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 also gained point-eight percentage points on-year to 66-point-seven percent in January, the largest figure for the month since 1989. 

The country's jobless rate decreased point-four percentage points on-year to four-point-one percent.