SEOUL, Nov. 10 — South Korea’s jobless claims turned downward last month due to lower demand in the construction and manufacturing industries, government data showed Monday. The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits decreased 16.2 percent over the year to 75,000 in October after growing in double digits in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The benefit applicants reduced in the construction, the manufacturing and the wholesale and retail sectors, but the reading was unchanged in the water supply, sewage and waste management industry. The job-seeking benefits are offered by the government to help the unemployed find jobs, taking up a majority of unemployment benefits. It is financed by the state employment insurance fund. The number of benefit recipients totaled 576,000 in October, down 2.0 percent from a year earlier. The total payment of job-seeking benefits swelled 4.9 percent to 1.05 trillion won (721.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month.
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