South Korea's jobless claims fall in September

Seoul: South Korea's jobless claims fell for the second successive month due to weaker demand in the education service, the health and social welfare, and the eatery and lodging sectors, government data showed on Monday.

The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits was 81,000 in September, down 1.0 per cent compared with the same month of 2023, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Xinhua news agency reported.

It kept a downward trend after going down 0.6 per cent in the previous month amid lingering worry about an economic slump, the Ministry said.

The benefit applicants shrank in the education service, the health and social welfare, the eatery and lodging sectors, but the reading in the construction, the business service and the information and communication industries climbed last month.

The job-seeking benefits are offered by the government to help the unemployed seek jobs, taking up a majority of unemployment benefits. It is financed by the state employment insurance fund.

The number of benefit receivers totalled 601,000 in September, up 1.8 per cent from a year earlier.

The total payment of job-seeking benefits gained 2.8 per cent to 962.5 billion won ($709.1 million) in the cited month.