SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's initial jobless claims rebounded in four months due to higher applications in the health, welfare and retail sectors, government data showed Monday.
The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits increased 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 81,000 in October, marking the first growth since June, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The service industry led the upward trend, with claims in health and social welfare, wholesale and retail, business support services, and accommodation and food services growing in double digits.
Applications in the manufacturing and the construction sectors declined 4.1 percent and 19.0 percent, respectively.
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 571,000 in October, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier.
It was driven by a substantial contraction of beneficiaries in the construction industry, the number of which dropped 24.4 percent last month.
The total payout for job-seeking benefits reduced 4.5 percent to 1.00 trillion won (737.5 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. ■