South Korea jobless rates flat in October

South Korea's unemployment rate held steady in October at 3.5 percent, government data showed on Thursday, as a sluggish jobs market offered little impetus for a recovery in domestic demand. The data came a few hours ahead of the central bank's monetary policy meeting, where interest rates are expected to be held steady at a record low, rather than cut, as inflationary pressures remain strong.
October's seasonally adjusted jobless rate was in line with a Reuters poll of economists, which put the median estimate for October unemployment at 3.5 percent, unchanged from the official rate in September.
But the number of employed people rose for a second consecutive month to a seasonally adjusted 22.58 million in October from 22.57 million in September, the National Statistical Office said in a statement.