Youth unemployment reached ten-and-a-half percent in June, the highest figure to be posted since related statistics began to be compiled in 1999.

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the figure was up two-tenths of a percentage point from the same period last year. 

The nation’s overall unemployment rate stood at three-point-eight percent last month, up two-tenths of a percentage point from the same period last year.

Real unemployment rate among youths stood at the highest level ever for the month of June this year at 23-point-four percent, or one-point-eight percentage points higher than a year ago. 

Real unemployment is a broader measure than the official unemployment rate, because it takes into account those who have stopped looking for work for a month or more.
 
Statistics Korea found the number of people in their 20s and people aged 60 and over who did not look for jobs grew while the number of people in other age brackets who didn’t hunt for jobs declined.