A total of 250,000 new jobs will be created this year and tax breaks will be given to companies which increase job positions, the government said Thursday (Jan 21).

The government has mapped out a plan at an emergency meeting to increase the national employment rate to 58.7% this year, a percentage point gain from the previous year, by resolving in particular the problem of a mismatch between employment supply and demand.

The meeting was presided over by The President and marked the start of emergency meetings dedicated to job creation. He had pledged to hold such a meeting in his New Year address.

In the meeting it was decided to expand the database of job seekers from among underprivileged classes and hiring small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) at public and private employment service centers. Currently about 7,000 such centers are in operation nationwide.

Vocational training for job seekers will be offered with support from the Korea Workers'' Compensation and Welfare Service and a 3.5‐trillion won venture fund will be launched to support the start‐ups.

The government also plans to help undereducated youths ‐‐ elementary and middle school graduates ‐‐ to find jobs by providing companies hiring them with half of the salary for six months.

SMEs which see higher employment year‐on‐year will be also given tax incentives depending on their hiring records.

While asking the businesses to take the lead in providing jobs, The President said at the meeting that people should try their best for Korea to solve the problems of unemployment earlier than others, to succeed in arguably the country''s fastest economic recovery among OECD members.