South Korean companies hired more full-time workers in the first quarter this year from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, reflecting an improvement in the country's job market.

According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, local companies hired 726,000 people over the January-March period, up 5.3 percent from a year earlier. The study was conducted over 30,000 local firms with five or more employees.

By sectors, the education and service segment hired 150,000, followed by manufacturers with 112,000 and facility management firms with 108,000.

Companies with less than 300 employees hired 588,000, while those with more than 300 workers recruited 137,000 new employees.

The firms are expected to hire 287,000 new workers over the second and third quarters, up 0.9 percent from last year, the ministry added. (Yonhap)