SEOUL, July 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims rebounded in five months in June due to strong demand in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and health and welfare industries, government data showed Monday.
The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits increased 3,800, or 4.5 percent, from a year earlier to 90,000 in June, after going down for the past four months, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The benefit applicants advanced in double digits in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and health and welfare industries, while the reading decreased in double figures in the construction sector.
The government offers job-seeking benefits to help the unemployed find work, accounting for the majority of unemployment benefits. It is financed by the state employment insurance fund.
The number of benefit recipients totaled 635,000 in June, down 3.0 percent from a year earlier.
The total payment of job-seeking benefits climbed 2.2 percent to 1.07 trillion won (709.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. ■