November 11 News — South Korea's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than three years in October, but weaker hiring activity and persistent difficulties in youth employment underscore the uneven recovery of Asia's fourth-largest economy. Data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 2.5% from 2.6% in September, matching the lowest level since May 2023. Economists attribute the decline primarily to workers exiting the labor market rather than any substantive improvement in employment demand. The number of employed people fell by 50,000 month-on-month, while the number of unemployed decreased by 29,000. This suggests that South Korea's economic boom driven by the semiconductor industry has yet to translate into broader employment growth. Surging demand for AI-related chips has boosted exports and economic growth, tightening the overall labor market, but the benefits have not reached labor-intensive industries or young people, and domestic demand remains sluggish.