South Korea’s unemployment rate remained high with no signs of recovery despite solid improvements in the job markets of other advanced economies last year, data showed Sunday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEJONG, Feb. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s unemployment rate remained high with no signs of recovery despite solid improvements in the job markets of other advanced economies last year, data showed Sunday.
South Korea’s unemployment rate stood at 3.73 percent last year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. The numbers mark four straight years of worsening numbers beginning in 2013.
Compared to Asia’s fourth-largest economy, other members of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported sharp gains in employment on economic recovery trends.
The average unemployment among 33 OECD member states came to 5.78 percent in 2017, according to data compiled by the OECD.
The rate hit a record-high of 8.34 percent in 2010 following the 2008 worldwide financial debacle but has steadily improved over time to recover to the 5-percent level.
Japan and the United States saw their unemployment rate fall to 2.81 percent and 4.35 percent last year, respectively, the OECD said.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force, the OECD said. Unemployed people are those who report that they are without work but are available for work and have taken active steps to find work in the last four weeks.
(Yonhap)
