The number of people without a job for more than six months has reached an 18-year high.

Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that the number of jobless people in the nation stood at one-point-18 million on average from January to March, with 151-thousand of those out of work for six months or longer. 

The six-month jobless figure represents an increase of 24-thousand or 18-point-eight percent from a year earlier and is the highest since 2000 when it was 159-thousand. 

Young people in their 20s accounted for the largest portion. 

The number of jobseekers who have not worked for over a year reached 19-thousand in the first quarter, up 51 percent year-on-year.