Unemployment rate remains at 1.7 pct

The unemployment rate remained stable at 1.7 percent between June and August. According to data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the underemployment rate was set at 0.3 percent.
The number of unemployed people reached 6,800, slightly up by 100 people since the May-July period. As fresh graduates joined the market, the number of fresh labor force participants searching for their first job increased by 5.1 percentage points, accounting for 23.1 percent of the total unemployed.
The total labor force amounted to 395,500 participants and the labor force participation rate stood at 73.9 percent. Total employment reached 388,700, an increase of 1,700 from May-July. An analysis by industry showed that employment in hotels, restaurants, and similar activities increased by 1,300 and rose by 700 within the gaming sector.
In comparison with June-August last year, the labor force participation rate rose by 1.1 percentage points, while the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate dropped by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively.