The nation added 312-thousand jobs in February to post the smallest growth in two years.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people stood at 27 million-714-thousand last month, marking an increase of 312-thousand from a year earlier.

February recorded the smallest on-year gain since February of 2021, when 473-thousand jobs were lost, with the pace of on-year growth continuing to slow for nine consecutive months after peaking at 935-thousand in May of last year.

The employment rate for those aged 15 and older rose by zero-point-five percentage points on-year to reach 61-point-one percent last month, the highest for February since such data was first aggregated for the month in 1983.

The jobless rate dropped by zero-point-three percentage points on-year to three-point-one percent in February, the lowest for the month following a statistical restructuring in the summer of 1999.