South Korea's major business groups on Monday called for the parliament to pass labor bills within next week, adding that the prolonged legislative impasse could hamper their efforts to create more jobs and boost the economy.

Five business lobbying groups, including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a bipartisan deal is urgent to draw up business plans and adopt reform measures in workplaces.

In September, labor, management and the government reached a landmark deal to ease labor restrictions to allow companies to dismiss workers who are either negligent or underperforming.

However, no follow-up measures have been taken as related bills were pending in the parliament.

"Without labor reforms, it is hard to create jobs for youth and achieve sustainable economic growth. But the parliament has not had enough discussions to put into practice of such measures," representatives of the groups said in a joint conference.

They also urged the parliament to approve the measures to ease regulations in the service sector and other areas so they can expand investment in new business projects.

"We are standing at the critical juncture of between a virtuous cycle for new jobs or getting bogged down into the low-growth economy," they said.

They echoed the same concern raised by President Park Geun-hye, who warned that South Korea's economy could face the difficulties of reviving its economy without a much-wanted overhaul in the labor and public sectors.

The high unemployment among youths has emerged as a major social problem in Asia's fourth-largest economy, prompting calls for more active measures to address the issue.

The jobless rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 reached 8.1 percent in November, up from the 7.4 percent reading a month earlier, marking the lowest level reported since May 2013, according to official data. (Yonhap)