A growing number of college graduates in Korea remain jobless through their late 20s, attributing to the record high youth unemployment rate last month, data showed Sunday.

Out of 114,000 people who had stayed jobless for more than four weeks in February, 80,000, or 70.2 percent, were aged between 25 and 29, according to data by Korea Statistics.

The jobless rate among those in their late 20s was 11.9 percent last month, adding 2.8 percentage points from a year earlier. The unemployment rate for those aged 15-29 hit a record high of 12.5 percent, the data showed, mainly due to the rising jobless rate among those in their late 20s.

The number of unemployed aged between 20 and 24 decreased by 9,000 in February compared with a year ago, while the corresponding figure for 30-somethings and those in their 40s increased 8,000 and 10,000, respectively, during the period, it said.

"The high jobless rate among males in their late 20s was due to the military service, while it took a longer period of time for females to graduate from college and get jobs," a Korea Statistics official said.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve about two years of military service. (Yonhap)