South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged in August, but youth unemployment hit an 18-year high based on August figures. The number of newly employed people also dropped below 300-thousand for the first time in seven months.
 
According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people reached 26-point-seven million last month, up 212-thousand from a year earlier.
 
It is the smallest increase since growing 201-thousand in February 2013. 

The number of newly employed people stood above the 300-thousand mark for six consecutive months before slipping again in August.
 
The nation's unemployment rate stood at three-point-six percent last month, unchanged from a year ago, while the employment rate inched up by one tenth of a percentage point from a year ago to 61-point-one percent.
 
However, the unemployment rate for young people, aged between 15 and 29, came to nine-point-four percent, slightly up from nine-point-three percent last year. It’s also the highest level since August 1999 when it posted ten-point-seven percent.