The unemployment rate rose to 3.8 percent in July from 3.7 percent in June as more people began looking for jobs to tap an apparent upturn in the economy, the government said Friday.
The unemployment rate for women rose 0.2 point from June to 3.7 percent, while the rate for men stayed flat at 3.8 percent, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said. The monthly uptick in the jobless rate is the second straight.
The number of jobless people surged 40,000 from June to 2.48 million as the number of people who lost their jobs rose 30,000 to 750,000 and those who quit sank 30,000 to 890,000, the ministry said.