North Korean defectors attend bakery class at the Hanawon (Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees) in Anseong, Gyeonggi province, July 10, 2023. Hanawon is a South Korean facility for the training for social adaptation of North Korean defectors, preparing them for life in the South. AP-Yonhap

The unemployment rate among North Korean defectors living in South Korea jumped to 6.3 percent this year, as the sluggish economy increased joblessness among female defectors, data showed Friday.

The figure represents a sharp rise from last year's 4.5 percent unemployment among North Korean defectors and is more than double South Korea's 3 percent unemployment rate, as reported in May's official data on economically active populations, according to the annual report by the Korea Hana Foundation.

The report also put the employment rate among North Korean defectors at 60.1 percent this year, down from last year's 60.5 percent, which compares to South Korea's overall employment rate of 63.5 percent in 2024.

The latest rise in joblessness among defectors is attributed to the unemployment rate among female defectors, which jumped to 7.7 percent this year from 5.1 percent last year.

In contrast, the corresponding rate among male defectors reached 3.1 percent, little changed from last year's 3 percent.

"During an economic recession, groups vulnerable to unemployment, such as women and those on short-term contracts, face greater difficulties," Jang In-sook, a foundation official, said. "North Korean defectors sustain relatively more impact from worsening unemployment conditions because nearly 75 percent of them are women."

The report also revealed that 56.8 percent of North Korean defectors report feeling "stressed" in everyday life, a figure significantly higher than the corresponding rate of 38.4 percent among the overall South Korean population.

A total of 12.8 percent of North Korean defectors reported having experienced suicidal impulses, compared with only 4.8 percent in the overall population.

The report also showed 16.1 percent of North Korean defectors experienced discrimination or disregard in the past year, compared with 16.3 percent reported last year. Differences in cultural backgrounds, such as manners of speaking, lifestyles and attitudes, were most frequently cited as the reasons.

The foundation, tasked with supporting North Korean defectors under the Ministry of Unification, publishes the report on the living conditions of North Korean defectors every year.

This year's report is based on a survey of 2,500 North Korean defectors aged 15 and older who entered South Korea between 1997 and 2023. (Yonhap)