South Korea lost more than 470-thousand jobs last month to post the biggest loss in over 21 years due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people reached 26-point-56 million in April, down 476-thousand from a year earlier. That marks the largest monthly on-year drop since February 1999 when the country lost 656-thousand jobs. 

The employment rate for those aged 15 or older slipped by one-point-four percentage points on-year to 59-point-four percent last month to hit a ten-year low. 

The employment rate for those aged 15 to 64 also dropped by one-point-four percentage points to 65-point-one percent in April. 

The economically active population plunged by 550-thousand on-year to 27-point-73 million. The economically inactive population, or people who are capable of working but choose not to seek jobs, came to 17 million, up 831-thousand on-year. 

The country's jobless rate dropped by point-two percentage points to four-point-two percent.