The Bank of Korea(BOK) has attributed around half of this year’s job growth to a resumption of economic activities resulting from the suspension of COVID-19 quarantine rules.

The central bank forecast that the number of employed people will post growth of 820-thousand this year in a report released on Friday.

It assessed that around half, or some 418-thousand, were estimated to have gained employment after restaurants and various service industry businesses reopened or expanded following eased quarantine regulations.

The bank said that although the employment figure surged this year, the quality of jobs was poor as they mostly consisted of positions offering low wages.

The BOK then forecast that next year, the effects from eased quarantine rules will wear off and the economy will witness a slowdown that contracts job growth to just some 90-thousand.

The bank projected that the nation’s employment rate will slip from this year’s 62-point-one percent to 62 percent in 2023 while the unemployment rate will climb from three percent to three-point-four percent during the same period.