South Korea's jobless rate falls to 4% in March

[SEOUL] South Korea's jobless rate fell to four per cent in March, state data showed Wednesday, but unemployment among young South Koreans continued to rise.

The overall rate was down from the 4.6 per cent registered in February - the highest for five years - but slightly up on the 3.9 per cent figure from a year ago, according to state-run Statistics Korea.

Asia's fourth-largest economy boasts relatively low unemployment compared to Europe or the United States, but the problem is more pronounced among young South Koreans as companies squeezed by slowing demand stop or scale down hiring.

The jobless rate among 15 to 29 year olds was 10.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent among those aged 25 to 29 in March.

AFP