South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in November as the construction sector hired fewer temporary workers than before amid relatively cold weather, government data showed Wednesday.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.

From a month earlier, it remained unchanged.

October's unemployment rate marked the lowest rate since December last year, when it hit 3.2 percent.

The number of employed people reached 26.85 million in November, up 253,000 from a year earlier, slowing down from the previous month's rise of 279,000.

The unemployment rate for young people -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- was 9.2 percent last month, compared with 8.2 percent a year earlier.

The employment rate advanced 0.1 percentage point to 61.2 percent last month from a year earlier, with the corresponding figure for young people unchanged at 41.9 percent.

The manufacturing sector, the backbone industry that shoulders a fifth of employment in Asia's fourth-largest economy, had 4.49 million workers on its payroll last month, up 46,000 from a year earlier.

More than 2 million workers were employed by local builders last month, up 68,000 from a year earlier, while retailers and wholesalers provided 23,000 new jobs in November. The public administrative institutions and private service providers offered 166,000 new jobs.

The gains were offset, however, by a drop in the sectors of telecom and financial services. Those sectors eliminated 53,000 jobs last month, and temporary workers also fell 95,000 last month. (Yonhap)

Lee Sam-sun  edt@koeapost.com

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