The unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.2 percent in August, remaining at its lowest level in 26 years on the back of the chronic labor shortage, government data showed Tuesday.

The number of people at work hit a record 67.51 million in August, of whom 30.02 million were women — the second-highest figure since officials began compiling comparable data in 1953, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

A government official told reporters the labor market is in a state close to "full employment" as the jobless rate has been moving between 2.2 percent and 2.5 percent since January 2018.