South Korea's jobless rate falls to 4pc in March

SEOUL: South Korea's jobless rate fell to four percent in March, state data showed Wednesday, but unemployment among young South Koreans continued to rise.

The overall rate was down from the 4.6 percent registered in February -- the highest for five years -- but slightly up on the 3.9 percent figure from a year ago, according to state-run Statistics Korea.

Asia's fourth-largest economy boasts relatively low unemployment compared to Europe or the United States, but the problem is more pronounced among young South Koreans as companies squeezed by slowing demand stop or scale down hiring.

The jobless rate among 15 to 29 year olds was 10.7 percent and 9.5 percent among those aged 25 to 29 in March.