The number of job openings per job seeker in South Korea fell to zero-point-four in July, the lowest figure for the month in 26 years, due to a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. 

Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday showed that new job postings on the ministry’s Employment24 platform dropped 16-point-nine percent year-on-year to 165-thousand, while the number of new job seekers rose five-point-five percent to 411-thousand.

This brought the ratio of openings to applicants down to zero-point-40 as compared with zero-point-51 a year earlier.

Not since 1999 has the ratio for July been so low. 

A senior ministry official attributed the decline to a significant downturn in the manufacturing sector, which has seen both job numbers and recruitment fall sharply.

The number of employment insurance subscribers rose by one-point-two percent year-on-year, or 180-thousand, to 15-point-six million, the smallest gain in 22 years outside of the pandemic period, with manufacturing and construction both recording declines.