published Sep 11, 2018, 7:28:25 PM, by Jungah Lee
(Bloomberg) —
Unemployment and jobs growth in South Korea haven’t looked so bad since the wake of the global financial crisis, undermining President Moon Jae-in’s economic agenda.

Data released Wednesday shows the unemployment rate jumping to 4.2 percent, the highest since early 2010, and much greater than any economists forecast. Jobs growth slumped to just 3,000, also the worst figure in more than eight years.

Moon, who came into office pledging to create jobs and raise incomes for regular workers, has seen his popularity slide amid criticism that he’s hurting employment by aggressively hiking the minimum wage. Adding to the economic unease is the risk that U.S. President Donald Trump may hit car exporters with auto tariffs, even after Seoul agreed to renegotiate its trade deal with the U.S.

The government has attributed problems in the labor market to the fallout from corporate restructuring, as well as challenging demographics that are shrinking the working-age population. Businesses contend that hiking the minimum wage 16 percent this year, with another bump of almost 11 percent to come in 2019, makes job layoffs inevitable. Small business owners in particular, from convenience stores to fast-food franchises, have shed workers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jungah Lee in Seoul at jlee1361@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net Paul Jackson
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