2021.02.1004:46:00UTC+00South Korea Jobless Rate At 21-Year High

South Korea's unemployment rate rose to a 21-year high in January, data from Statistics Korea showed on Wednesday.

The jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.4 percent in January from 4.5 percent in December. This was the highest rate since 1999.

In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent.

On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate increased to 5.7 percent in January from 4.1 percent in the previous month.

The number of unemployed climbed to 1.570 million in January from 1.135 million in the preceding month. Compared to a year ago, the figure rose by 417,000 persons.

The number of employed persons decreased by 982,000 year-on-year to 25.818 million in January.