SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims turned downward last month due to weaker demand in the education service, the eatery and lodging and the public administration sectors, government data showed Monday.
The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits was 86,000 in August, down 0.6 percent compared with the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The number turned downward after gaining 7.7 percent in the previous month amid lingering worry about an economic slowdown.
The benefit applicants were fewer in the education service, the eatery and lodging and the public administration sectors, but the reading in the construction, the business service and the information and communication industries climbed last month.
The job-seeking benefits, financed by the state employment insurance fund, are offered by the government to help the unemployed seek jobs, taking up a majority of unemployment benefits.
The number of benefit receivers totaled 625,000 in August, down 0.4 percent from a year earlier, while the total payment of job-seeking benefits declined 2.2 percent to 1.03 trillion won (768.3 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. ■