The unemployment rate for middle-aged people in South Korea rose sharply in the second quarter... to surpass that of the U.S. for the first time in almost 20 years.
According to the OECD and Statistics Korea, the jobless rate in Q-2 for people aged 55 to 64 came to two-point-nine percent, up zero-point-four percentage points on-year.
The corresponding figure for the U.S. was two-point-seven percent.
Generally, countries with a bigger working-age population, like the U.S., tend to have a higher unemployment rate.
Analysts attribute the rise to the overall economic slowdown in South Korea... and an increase in the number of economically active... older people.