S Korea`s jobless rate rises in Sept

The jobless rate of South Korea rose to the highest in 11 years in the month of September due to chronic export slump and the ongoing restructuring in shipbuilding and shipping industries.

The unemployment rate gained 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier to 3.6 per cent in September, according to Statistics Korea.

It was the highest level measured in the month of September since 3.6 per cent tallied in September 2005.

The number of those unemployed increased 120,000 as those in their 20s and 50s mainly lost their jobs.

The youth jobless rate among those aged 15 to 29 was 9.4 per cent in September, up 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier.

It was higher than any September figure since the statistical agency began compiling the data.

The number of those employed reached 26.531 million in September, up 267,000 from the same month of last year. It was the lowest growth since it posted an increase of 261,000 jobs in May.

Lackluster labour market came as exports continued slump amid the global economic slowdown, leading major exporters to refrain from hiring workers.

Exports, which account for about half of the economy, declined 5.9 per cent in September from a year ago. The country`s exports kept falling in the past 21 months except for August.

The government-led restructuring among shipbuilders and shipping lines is going on after major three shipbuilders pledged to reduce workers by 30 per cent and overcapacity by 20 per cent by the end of 2018, according to a news agency report.