South Korea's jobless rate hit 10- year high in January, despite growing signs hinting at an economic recovery, a government report showed Wednesday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, the unemployment rate marked 5.0 percent in January, up 1.4 percentage points year- on-year.

In terms of number, the unemployed totaled 1.2 million in January, increasing 368,000, or 43.4 percent, from a year ago, the report said.

Meanwhile, the employment-population ratio tallied 56.6 percent in January, down 0.7 percentage point annually, with the number of employed amounting to 22,865,000 persons in January, climbing up 5, 000 persons, the report added.

According to the agency, the hike in the jobless rate came as more people, who previously belonged to the economically inactive group, returned to the job market, beginning their job search amid an economic recovery.

The economically active population for January, accordingly, hit 24 million, growing 373,000 or 1.6 percent from a year ago, the agency said in the report.

The January figure, hinting at the nation's grim prospects for the job conditions, came amid the government's continuous reiteration of prioritizing job creation as its main macroeconomic policy.

The South Korean economy, despite its faster-than-expected recovery in multiple dimensions, may see a hurdle in its growth path if the sluggish job market status continued, local media reports said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2010)