Weak hiring sentiment by companies in South Korea has driven the number of long-term jobseekers in the country to record highs.
It has also triggered a rapid expansion in government expenditure on unemployment benefits.
Kim Hyo-sun has more.
The number of South Koreans who are considered long-term unemployed came to 152-thousand a month on average over the first nine months of 2018.
According to Statistics Korea,... long-term unemployed refers to people who have failed to land jobs despite trying for more than six months.
The data also show that this is the highest figure since record keeping began in 1999.
With the prolonged slump in employment,... an increasing number of people have decided to give up on job seeking altogether.
The monthly average of people giving up on searching for work stood at 516-thousand through September,... jumping some 30-thousand year-on-year.
Increasing unemployment is a big headache for the government.

"Challenges continue due to the slump in private investment and a one-digit increase in the employment rate in the latter half of the year."

Due to the increasing number of long-term jobseekers, South Korea's expenditures on unemployment benefits stood at around four-point-four billion U.S. dollars from January to September ,... a more than 23 percent surge on-year.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.