(LEAD) S. Korea adds 108,000 new jobs in July; manufacturing employment remains weak

South Korea added 108,000 jobs in July compared to a year ago, marking the second consecutive month of job growth, according to government data released on August 12. The total number of employed people reached 29.13 million in July, up from 29.02 million the previous year. However, manufacturing employment continued to remain weak, with a decrease of 68,000 jobs in July, marking the 25th consecutive month of decline.

The unemployment rate rose to 2.6 percent in July, up 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier, with the number of unemployed people increasing to 776,000 from the previous year. The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 was 70.3 percent, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point. However, the employment rate for individuals aged 15 to 29 fell by 1.6 percentage points to 44.2 percent, marking the 27th consecutive monthly decline.