South Korea's job creation plunged to the lowest level in six years in August, casting a cloud over the outlook for employment down the road as the economy struggles with weak demand both at home and abroad.  

Citing the low growth stemmed mainly from seasonal factors, however, government officials painted a rather rosy picture of the labor market, predicting employment will likely gather ground in September.

According to latest government data, Asia's fourth-largest economy added 256,000 jobs in August, down from 326,000 in July, with the total number of employed people hitting slightly over 26.14 million.

The August tally is the smallest gain for the month of August since a mere 3,000 were added to the workforce in 2009, when the country was reeling from the fallout of the global financial crisis. It also marks the smallest on-year gain this year after 216,000 tallied for April.

The low job creation was attributed mainly to a seasonal factor that Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving Day, fell in early September in 2014, which prompted wholesalers and retailers to hire more workers in August last year.

South Koreans usually throng shopping centers to buy meat, fruits and other goods to prepare for one of the nation's biggest holidays, when family members gather over lavish meals.

This year, the national holiday falls on Sept. 27. It is celebrated according to the lunar calender, which changes from year to year.

"The wholesale and retail sector increased its workforce by 160,000 in August last year, but it slashed their workforce by 74,000 last month," said Sim Won-bo, head of the employment statistics division at the agency. "That was the main culprit."

The loss was compounded by jobs cut by the agrofisheries and financial sectors that offset gains in manufacturing and hospitality businesses, he said.

Kim Jin-myung, the head of the finance ministry's policy planning office, echoed the view.

"In 2014, Chuseok fell in early September, causing a spike in demand for workers in wholesale and retail shops that was not present last month," he said. "With Chuseok falling on Sept. 27 in 2015, there may be a rise in hiring this month."

Such a seasonal factor aside, the finance ministry said improving consumer spending and government stimulus measures are likely to help the number of new jobs go up in the coming months.

It had predicted that more jobs would be created in the second half of 2015 than in the first half.

"The government's decision to spend an extra budget as soon as possible as well as other expansionary fiscal policy measures should breathe new vigor into the job market," it said.

In July, the National Assembly approved the 11.53 trillion won ($9.66 billion) supplementary budget after the country was rocked by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak and sagging exports resulting from sluggish global economic recovery.

The MERS outbreak crippled private spending in June and the early part of July after the first case was confirmed on May 20. It claimed 36 lives with 186 people being infected by the respiratory virus.

South Korea's export, a key growth engine for the country, plunged 14.7 percent on-year in August and 6.1 percent in the first eight months of this year.

Despite the slowdown in job creation, South Korea's headline jobless rate fell to 3.4 percent in August from 3.7 percent the previous month. A drop in youth unemployment was also another sign of improvement.

 The unemployment rate for people aged 15-29 sank from 9.4 percent in July to 8 percent last month, the lowest reading since the 8 percent reported for October 2014. The drop was attributed to more students finding part-time jobs during summer break. (Yonhap)