An index quantifying the economic distress level of households has climbed to a five-year high in South Korea on the back of job and price conditions.
 
According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the economic distress index was six-point-four in the first quarter, the highest since six-point-eight in the first quarter of 2012.

The figure is the mixed gauge of the first quarter jobless rate at four-point-three percent and the consumer price increase at two-point-one percent. 

The indicator rose as high as eight-point-six in the third quarter of 2008 during the global financial crisis, but fell as growth in consumer prices slowed.