SEOUL, KOREA - The February jobs number rose the highest level in 12 years since March 2002. The employment ratio for the month was 58.6 percent, with the unemployment ratio and youth unemployment ratio at 4.5 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.  

 

According to a report "February 2014 Employment Trend" by the National Statistical Office on March 12, the number of the employed in February was 24,819,000, up 835,000 from the same month last year.

 

In January, the jobs number of 705,000 was the highest increase since March 2002 when the corresponding figure was 842,000. The February figure broke the previous month's record only in one month. The jobs number has been on an upward trend since May last year when the figure was 265,000. In November and December, the number rose more than 500,000 for two consecutive months.

 

The February unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage point from a year ago. The number of the unemployed was 1,178,000, 19.1 percent (189,000) higher than that in the same month last year. As for the unemployment rate for youths aged between 15 and 29, the figure was 10.9 percent, up 1.8 percentage points from 9.1 percent in February 2013.