Childbirth in South Korea jumped 9.1 percent in October from a year earlier thanks to an increase in marriages, a government report showed Monday.

The number of babies born in the country came in at 41,900 in October, up 3,500 or 9.1 percent from the same month of last year, according to Statistics Korea. The figure kept its growth trend for six straight months.

For the first 10 months of this year, newborn babies in South Korea reached 412,100, up 3.1 percent from the same period of last year.

The October jump was attributable to a hike in marriages. The number of couples who tied the knot reached 27,100 in October, up 4.6 percent from a year before. It was the rebound from a 10 percent reduction in the prior month.

The figure came as falling childbirth and aging population emerged as a big threat to the South Korean economy. Those two factors were feared to entail low growth potential due to chronic labor shortage.

The country's total fertility rate, gauging the total number of children born by a woman of childbearing age, stood at 1.22 in 2010, sharply down from 4.71 tallied in 1970.

Meanwhile, the number of divorces increased 3.1 percent on-year to 10,000 in October, while the figure for deaths expanded 4.6 percent to 22,900 over the same period.