460,000, Youth Jobless Rate Hits Three-year High

The number of jobless people was recorded as 900,000 in February as home consumption continues to stagnate. Also, the unemployment rate for youth hit a three-year high of 9.1 percent.

The National Statistic Office reported its “Job Market Trend in February” on March 18 and the report states that the jobless increased with as many as 460,000 people in February to reach a total of 900,000 people

The number of jobless reached the highest in two years and 11 months since March 2001, in which 1.066 million people were jobless. This means that since February 1, 586 persons were out of work each day.

The jobless rate in February rose to 3.9 percent with a 0.2 increase from the previous month. The rate hit the highest mark from the records of March and April 2001, 4.8 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.

The unemployment rate and the number of jobless people in February rose 0.2 percent and 78,000 persons respectively from their records a year ago. By age, the jobless rate for youths aged 15 to 29 accounted for more than half of all unemployed with 460,000 people. The youth jobless rate increased to 9.1 percent, up 0.3 percent from the previous month. It was the highest record since February 2001 of 9.2 percent.

The number of unemployment for those in their 20s stood at 413,000 with a 24,000 increase as college graduates began their job search.

After adjusting for the job-finding season, inflation, and farmers’ slack season, the jobless rate in February was unchanged from the previous month at 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, the total number of people who found jobs increased by 69,000 from January and 507,000 from a year ago.

But the quality of employment worsened as the total number of employers who work less than 18 hours per week was 804,000 with a 111,000 increase from a year ago.

Jong sik Kong kong@donga.com