Job availability rose for a second straight month in November, the government said Friday, suggesting firms are seeking to hire more workers as corporate profits improve.

The ratio of job offers to job-seekers climbed to 1.12 from 1.10 in October, meaning 112 positions were available for every 100 people seeking one, according to the labor ministry.

The jobless rate remained flat in November compared with last month, at 3.5 percent, the internal affairs ministry said.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people fell to 2.1 percent to 2.29 million, it said.

The ministry said that on a year-on-year basis, 20.12 million of the 63.71 million people employed in November were on fixed-term contracts, meaning around 30 percent of the working population faced job security issues.

It was the first time the number nonregular workers topped 20 million since the data was first compiled in 1984, a government official said, adding that the rise in the category coincides with an increase in mothers with children taking jobs, the official said.

By industry, the health care and welfare sector and the information and communication sector added 350,000 and 140,000 jobs, respectively, in November from a year earlier, but the manufacturing industry cut 290,000 jobs, the internal affairs ministry said.