The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits came in at 80,000 in October, up 3.8 percent from the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The number rebounded this year on the back of mounting worry about the economic slowdown, driven by sluggish exports and faltering housing market.
The benefit applicants expanded in the manufacturing, construction, and information and communications industries.
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 totaled 566,000 in October, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier. It kept an upward trend for the ninth straight month since February.
The total payment of job-seeking benefits soared 11.2 percent to 910.4 billion won (687.5 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month.
The per-capita payment gained 5.0 percent to 1,608,000 won (1,210 dollars) last month.
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