The government has assessed that the recovery trend in the local job market seen over the recent four months ended and then worsened in September.

The government issued the assessment on Friday in a meeting of economy-related ministers, after the nation reported on-year losses of 392-thousand jobs last month amid a resurgence of COVID-19. It marks the largest drop in four months since May.

In the meeting chaired by Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, the participants agreed on the grave job situation and expressed concerns about continued woes for youth, temporary workers and self-owned businesses.

The officials, however, expect the job market to recover in October as social distancing guidelines were eased to the lowest level early this month.

The government decided to swiftly provide support for people hit hard by the pandemic, while increasing efforts to create jobs and stabilize the job market.