The nation's overall unemployment rate stood at 4.3 percent in March, compared with 4.9 percent tallied in February, the report said, noting the seasonally adjusted jobless rate also dropped to 3.8 percent from 4.1 percent over the cited period.

Job creation edged up from the previous month. The number of employed people stood at 25.8 million in March, up 300,000 from a year earlier. It is higher than the previous month's 223,000 gain, which was the lowest on-year job growth in 12 months.

The unemployment rate for young people, aged between 15 and 29, reached 11.8 percent last month, down from a record high of 12.5 percent in February.

But the latest figure marked the highest rate for March since the agency started compiling related data in 1999.

"The youth unemployment rate usually rises in March as some government exams are still going on. Applicants for these exams are counted for the unemployed," said Sim Won-bo, head of the agency's employment statistics division.

"The jobless rate for the youth has been on the rise as a growing number of young people seek jobs, but at the same time, their employment rate is also rising."

The employment rate for those aged under 29 has remained over the 41 percent line since 2013, when it bottomed at 39.7 percent.

The statistics agency said the agricultural industry hired 1.2 million people last month, up from 975,000 people a month earlier as the cold weather abated.

The public health and education sectors also lent support to the increase in employment, it added.

"The jobless rate will likely improve in the coming months on the back of an upturn in exports and consumer sentiment," the finance ministry said.

Recently, key economic indicators showed some signs of recovery, as the pace of decline in South Korea's outbound shipments decelerated to 8.2 percent in March from an 18.8-percent on-year drop in January and a 12.2-percent fall in February.

Consumers' sentiment improved from a month earlier in March, snapping a three-month losing streak, while business sentiment among manufacturing companies for April hit a five-month high with both large and smaller firms. (Yonhap)