South Korea's overall unemployment rate fell last month from a year earlier while the youth jobless rate peaked to its highest ever for the month of April.

According to data revealed by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, job holders numbered 26-point-15 million in April, 252-thousand more than the same month last year.

The unemployment rate for youths aged between 15 and 29 came to ten-point-nine percent, an increase of zero-point-seven percentage point from April a year earlier. It marked the highest rate for the month since 1999 when the government changed the definition of job seekers.

The sensible unemployment rate was eleven-point-one percent. The figure includes those seeking permanent jobs while working part time.

A Statistics Korea official noted that newly employed workers in the manufacturing sectors had declined due to recent restructuring moves in the industries. The official added that the effects of restructuring at South Korea’s shipbuilders could start to show in the second half of this year.