Discouraged job-seeker numbers in Korea hit four-year high

The number of discouraged job-seekers in South Korea, or those who no longer showed signs of seeking employment for at least four weeks, rose to a four-year high in August, according to official data.

Statistics Korea showed that the monthly average number of South Koreans that have given up on finding a job stood at 510,000 as of the end of August, a 5.4% rise from the same period last year.

The increase was the highest since 2014 when the government started collecting the data.

Government data pointed to a feeble employment market and slowing economic growth as the main reasons why more than half a million South Koreans have lost interest in looking for jobs.

Aside from discouraged job-seekers, South Korea also has a growing number of long-term unemployed.

According to the same data, those who have been out of job for six months or longer stood at 149,000 for the monthly moving average as of the end of August, a 6% rise from a year earlier.