South Korea is nearing recovery of its pre-pandemic employment levels, with more people venturing out to seek jobs after the economy expanded at a faster pace than had previously been expected.

The economy added 619,000 jobs compared with a year earlier, in a third month of gains, the country's statistics office reported Wednesday.

South Korea has now recouped more than 80% of the positions lost during the COVID-19 crisis, the finance ministry said in a separate statement.