Long-term unemployment hits highest level in 18 years

By Yonhap

Published : April 18, 2018 - 13:29

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SEJONG -- The number of long-term unemployed jobseekers, those unable to find work for over six months, exceeded 150,000 in the first quarter of this year, the highest tallied in 18 years, Statistics Korea said Wednesday.

The latest data showed a total of 1.181 million people did not have a job in the three month period.

The latest figure for people out of work for more than half a year represents an 18.8 percent increase from the same quarter of 2017. The jobless number is the highest since 159,000 in 2000.

Jobseekers check out employment opportunities placed on a hiring notice board. (Yonhap)

The number of people unemployed for over a year reached 19,000, up 51.2 percent from the January-March period a year earlier. This is also the highest since 29,000 in 2001.

Data said 523,400 people gave up looking for work altogether, up 1.3 percent from the same period last year.

Last month's tally from Statistics Korea put the overall number of jobless people at 1.257 million. The figure has remained above the 1 million mark for three straight months this year. Numbers reached 1.02 million in January and 1.265 million in February. (Yonhap)

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Long-term unemployment hits highest level in 18 years

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