08:10 AM EST, 11/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Employment growth slowed in South Korea to 0.3% year over year in October from 0.5% in September, driven by wholesale and retail trade, which led to an increase in the unemployment rate in October, said Nomura.

Indeed, job creation in the service sector weakened, led by human contact sectors such as hotel & restaurant, transportation and sports & entertainment.

As a result, job growth in the human contact sectors turned negative for the first time since the post-pandemic recovery, which also slowed job growth in the overall service sector.

Manufacturing and construction sectors continued to lose jobs, reflecting weakening economic growth momentum and the ongoing restructuring in the construction industry.

The cooling labor market is a headwind to a consumption recovery, stated the bank. Slowing income growth weighs on consumption.

Reflecting on this week's labor market report, Nomura expects total wage income growth to slow to 3.5% year over year in Q4 from 3.7% in Q3, which supports a dovish hold at the Bank of Korea's November policy meeting.