S. Korea's jobless rate rises to 3.5 pct in Dec

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate rose in December as
employment conditions remained tight despite signs the economy is making a
faster-than-expected recovery, a government report showed Wednesday.
The jobless rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, up from 3.3 percent the
previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The figure marks the
second consecutive rise after falling to an 11-month low of 3.2 percent in
October.
The number of employed people totaled 23.23 million last month, down 16,000 from
a year earlier. The on-year job shrinkage compared with a 1,000 decline recorded
in November, the report showed.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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