SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims declined due to weaker demand in the construction and manufacturing industries, government data showed Monday.
The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits fell by 2,500, or 2.2 percent, from a year earlier to 109,000 in July, after growing in the single digits the previous month, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The benefit applicants sank in the construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, while the reading gained in the health and welfare, the wholesale and retail, and the public administration industries.
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 643,000 in July, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier.
The total payment of job-seeking benefits declined 2.0 percent to 1.09 trillion won (770.3 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. ■