SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's employment rose for the ninth consecutive month due to an increase in elderly jobs, statistical office data showed Friday.

The number of employed people aged 15 and older gained 312,000, or 1.1 percent, from a year earlier to 29,154,000 in September, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It kept an upward trend since January, marking the fastest expansion in 19 months since February last year.

The overall job growth was driven by the elderly. The number of jobs for those aged 60 and older expanded 381,000 in September on a yearly basis, and the figure for those in their 30s grew 133,000.

Employment among those aged 15-29 dived 146,000, while jobs for those in their 40s and 50s reduced 45,000 and 11,000 each.

The number of jobs in the health and social welfare service, the arts, sports and leisure service, and the education service sectors picked up 304,000, 75,000 and 56,000 each.

Jobs in the wholesale and retail sector climbed 28,000 last month, marking the fastest in seven years and 10 months on the back of the government's offer of cash handout to bolster consumer spending.

The figure in the eatery and lodging sector swelled 26,000 in September from a year earlier, posting the highest in six months.

Employment among manufacturers declined 61,000 in September compared to the same month of last year, keeping a downward trend for the 15th successive month.

Jobs lost in the construction industry reached 84,000, continuing to go down for the 17th straight month.

The number of regular employees went up 340,000, while the readings for irregular workers and daily laborers grew 44,000 and 2,000 each last month.

The number of the self-employed who hired employees gained 30,000, but the figure for the self-employed without workers dwindled 85,000.

Employment rate for those aged 15 and older rose 0.4 percentage points to 63.7 percent in September on a yearly basis, while the OECD-method hiring rate for those aged 15-64 mounted 0.5 percentage points to 70.4 percent.

The number of unemployed people totaled 635,000 in September, up 12,000 from a year ago. Unemployment rate stood unchanged at 2.1 percent.

The expanded jobless rate was unchanged at 7.9 percent in the cited month, while the corresponding rate for those aged 15-29 advanced 0.4 percentage points to 15.1 percent.

The official unemployment rate gauges those who are immediately available for work but failed to get a job for the past four weeks despite efforts to seek a job actively.

The expanded jobless rate, called the labor underutilization indicator, adds those who are discouraged from searching for a job, those who work part-time against their will to work full-time, and those who prepare to get a job after college graduation, to the official unemployment rate.

The economically inactive population, who had no willingness to seek a job and remained unemployed, diminished 116,000 from a year earlier to 16,009,000 in September.

The reading for discouraged job seekers swelled 9,000 to 369,000 last month.

The number of the "take-a-rest" group, who replied that they took a rest during a job survey period, went up 42,000 to 2,521,000 in the same month.

The take-a-rest group is considered important as it can include those who are too discouraged to seek a job for an extended period.