Seoul, April 9 -- The Republic of Korea added nearly 2,00,000 jobs in March, but employment in the construction and manufacturing sectors continued to decline, data showed Wednesday.

Yonhap News Agency quoted data compiled by Statistics Korea as saying that the number of employed people reached 28.59 million last month, up 1,93,000 from a year earlier.

The country had posted a net increase of 1,35,000 jobs in January, reversing a 52,000 decrease in the previous month. In February, the Republic of Korea added 1,36,000 new positions.

In March, employment in the construction sector dropped by 1,85,000 from the same month last year, marking a continuous decline for 11 consecutive months.

In contrast, employment in public health and social...