S. Korea jobless rate holds steady in July

South Korea's unemployment rate was unchanged in July from the previous month, official figures showed Wednesday, but the economy added more than 300,000 jobs compared with a year earlier. Finance Minister Bahk Jae-Wan said the data, which compares with a 3.7 percent jobless rate a year earlier, indicates a continued recovery in the job market. Statistics Korea said the number of people with jobs rose by 335,000 to 24.6 million from July 2010. The figure compares with a 472,000 increase in June. Despite the figures, most analysts expect the central bank to hold the key interest rate steady at 3.25 percent when it meets Thursday, given heightened uncertainty about the economic health of the United States and the eurozone.