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South Korea jobless rate jumps to 3-1/2-year high in December

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 01/14/25 06:06 PM EST

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's jobless rate jumped to the highest in 3-1/2 years in December, as economic uncertainty heightened and sentiment dampened amid political turmoil, official data showed on Wednesday.

The unemployment rate rose in December to 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since June 2021 and sharply up from 2.7% in November, according to Statistics Korea.

The number of employed people fell by 52,000 over the 12 months to December, after a gain of 123,000 in November. It was the first fall since February 2021.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Chris Reese)

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