The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came to 4.6 percent in November, up from 4.5 percent in October, the second straight monthly increase, the government said Tuesday.
The rise in the jobless rate primarily stemmed from more women quitting their jobs in search of better work as the economic recovery widens, government officials said.
The number of jobless people rose to 2.92 million in the reporting month, up 20,000 from the same period a year earlier, the first year-on-year rise in 31 months, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry stated in a preliminary report.