Korea's unemployment rate dips to a measly 3.1%
Thanks to the robust growth in self-employed workers, the unemployed fell 1 percentage point.
According to BBVA Research, despite slowing economic growth, Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in July (consensus: 3.3%) from 3.2% in June, on strong growth in self-employed workers. The outturn was a welcome sign for Korea, where the labor market has tightened (unemployment has fallen from 3.7% in February) even as the participation rate has increased (to 62.2% in July, from 60.0% in February).