As the number of unemployed increased due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the amount of unemployment benefit payments again broke a record high last month.

According to the'July Labor Market Trends' released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor today (10th), the amount of job-seeking benefits paid last month was KRW 1.188.5 billion, a sharp increase of KRW 429.6 billion (56.6%) from the same month last year.

The record-breaking maximum recorded in June (KRW 1.1 trillion) was replaced in one month.

The amount of job-seeking benefits paid has been a new record for the sixth consecutive month since February of this year, when the spread of Corona 19 began in earnest.

Job-seeking benefits are allowances paid by the government to the Employment Insurance Fund to support unemployed people's job-seeking activities. They account for most of the unemployment benefits and are commonly referred to as unemployment benefits.

Last month, there were 114,000 new applicants for job-seeking benefits, an increase of 13,000 (12.9%) from the same month last year.

The number of job-seeking benefits recipients is 731,000, the largest ever.

The Ministry of Labor explained that the steep increase in job-seeking benefit payments was not only due to an increase in the unemployed, but also due to system improvements, such as an increase in job-seeking benefit payments and an extension of the payment period applied from October last year.

Last month, employment insurance subscribers were 13.98,000, an increase of 185,000 (1.4%) from the same month last year.

The monthly increase in employment insurance subscribers continued to rise to 500,000 people last year, but this year, it sharply declined due to the corona 19 outbreak and fell to 155,000 in May.

However, it rebounded to 184,000 in June and increased a little more last month.

(Photo = Yonhap News)