South Korea posted the biggest job growth in 20 years for the month of March by adding more than 800-thousand jobs.

Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that the number of employed people in March increased by 831-thousand from a year earlier to total nearly 27-point-eight million.

It marks the largest on-year increase for the month of March since 2002, when 864-thousand jobs were added.

While the growth rally continued for the 13th consecutive month, the pace of growth slowed from the two previous months which added over a million jobs each. A decline in the number of jobs in March was conspicuous in the lodging and food service industries and wholesale and retail industries amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older gained one-point-six percentage points on-year to hit 61-point-four percent last month.

The jobless rate dropped by one-point-three percentage points on-year to three percent, with the total unemployment figure declining by 342-thousand to 873-thousand.