S. Korea's initial jobless claims keep double-digit growth in September

 South Korea's initial jobless claims kept a double-digit growth last month owing to the continued negative effect from the COVID-19 outbreak, a government report showed Monday.

   The number of those who newly applied for job-seeking benefits was 99,000 in September, up 39.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

   The reading continued to rise in double figures since May. Companies encouraged employees to go on an unpaid leave or be laid off amid the lingering worry about the economic fallout from the pandemic.

   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 job-seeking benefit receivers totaled 698,000 in September, up 57.2 percent from a year earlier.

   The total payment of job-seeking benefits reached 1.17 trillion won (1 billion U.S. dollars) in September, up 74.5 percent from a year ago.

   The record-level benefits payment continued amid an increased benefits payment and a higher number of jobless claims.