South Korea's employment conditions will show signs of recovery starting next month, as a slew of government policies are set to be put into practice, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.

"Considering the rising trend in the number of the employed and what we can expect from new policies, we can predict that employment conditions will improve in earnest from June," Bahn Jahng-shik, the presidential secretary for job creation, told reporters. 

Bahn's remark comes amid growing criticism that the Moon Jae-in government is paying insufficient attention to the economy while paying more attention to diplomacy and other areas. The country's unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent in April, with that of young people aged between 15 and 29 remaining high at 10.7 percent.

In March, the government proposed a 3.9 trillion-won ($3.69 billion) extra budget largely to create new jobs for young people, amid deepening concerns about high unemployment.

The government hopes that with the pledged support, youth unemployment can fall below 8 percent by 2021 and upwards of 220,000 jobs could be newly added through that year.

"We will be executing the budget bill in a short while, after the parliament ends its review. We have a major recruiting season coming up, led by banks and public firms," Bahn said. "The work week cut starting July will also have a positive impact on the job sector."

Bahn pointed out the key reason for a grim job market is the aging population and a low birthrate, overshadowing the 123,000 increase in jobs for April.

"The government will ensure our policies are carried out in a swift manner so that they will deliver concrete outcomes and what has been anticipated," he added. (Yonhap)