The nation added more than 800-thousand jobs last year, the largest growth in 22 years.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people stood at 28 million-89-thousand in 2022, marking an increase of 816-thousand from a year earlier for the largest gain since 2000, when 882-thousand jobs were added.

Annual job growth dropped to negative 218-thousand in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19, but turned around to 369-thousand in 2021 before climbing further in 2022 to significantly surpass the government's estimate of 280-thousand made in December 2021.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older rose by one-point-six percentage points on-year to reach 62-point-one percent last year, the highest since the nation started compiling related data in 1963.

The unemployment rate dropped by zero-point-eight percentage points on-year to two-point-nine percent.

The 2022 job growth is attributed to eased COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, increased jobs in delivery, caretaking, and the IT sector and robust exports, but this year is feared to see a sharp decline as economic growth is expected to slow.