Seoul: This year's unemployment benefit payments are expected to hit a new high after payments in January through November exceeded the previous record set in 2021, the labor ministry said Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry's latest analysis of labor market trends revealed that the government paid 792 billion won (US$539 million) in unemployment benefits in November. This figure represents a 6 percent decrease from the previous year and marks the first instance since January that the payments fell short of 1 trillion won.

From February through October, the benefit payments consistently exceeded 1 trillion won each month, establishing a record for the longest period of such high payments. The cumulative total for the first 11 months of the year reached 11.47 trillion won, surpassing the 11.25 trillion won recorded during the same period in 2021, when unemployment was notably high due to the pandemic.

A ministry official noted that unemployment benefit payments in December are typically slightly less than or at the same level as in November. Consequently, next month's unemployment benefit payments are projected to be between 800 and 900 billion won.

The data further indicated that the number of people continuously subscribing to state employment insurance stood at 15.65 million at the end of November, reflecting a 1.1 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of jobs available per jobseeker was 0.43, the lowest figure for November since 1998, during the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

The official explained that demand for labor has weakened significantly in the manufacturing, construction, and wholesale and retail industries. Concurrently, the number of individuals seeking jobs is gradually rising, resulting in a challenging job market. The labor market shows improvements in job numbers but continues to exhibit weak employment opportunities in the manufacturing and construction sectors, as well as among young people.