Despite the South Korean government's efforts to boost the job market, the latest employment report shows the situation remains grim.
The overall unemployment rate for last month was 4-point-5 percent... its highest figure for the month of January since 2010 when Korea was dealing with the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
The number of newly employed people in January increased by 19-thousand on-year... the smallest increase since last August's increase of 3-thousand.
Statistics Korea said the figures decreased in the manufacturing, business facilities management and wholesale and retail sectors.