Korea Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.8%
By wchung | 13 May, 2009

South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in April, government data showed Wednesday, adding to signs the country’s battered economy is improving.

The jobless rate declined from 4 percent in March, the Korea National Statistical office announced. Adjusted for seasonal factors, it remained flat at 3.7 percent.

The unemployment rate had been rising since November last year as the effects of the global economic slump hit export-dependent South Korea. The ensuing slowdown has been the country’s worst since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

South Korea still lost jobs in April, though at a slower pace. There were 188,000 fewer people employed compared with the same month last year, down from a decline of 195,000 in March.

The employment report comes as other recent data suggests the economy may be improving. The pace of decline in South Korea’s exports is slowing and the country recorded a record trade surplus for the second straight month in April.

The Bank of Korea announced last month that the economy grew 0.1 percent in the first quarter after contracting 5.1 percent in the final three months of 2008 amid efforts by the government and central bank to stimulate the economy.

The Bank of Korea on Wednesday left its key interest rate at a record low 2 percent for the third straight month and expressed caution about the potential for further economic weakness amid the global slump.

5/13/2009 3:14 AM SEOUL, South Korea (AP)