SEOUL, June 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims rose for the second successive month due to higher demand in the construction, communications and science sectors, labor ministry data showed Monday.

The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits was 88,000 in May, up 1.8 percent compared with the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The number continued to grow since April amid lingering worry about an economic slowdown.

The benefits applicants gained in the construction, information and communications, science and technology, and business service industries, but the reading in the manufacturing, transport and health and welfare sectors reduced last month.

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 646,000 in May, down 1.6 percent from a year earlier.

The total payment of job-seeking benefits swelled 1.4 percent to 1.08 trillion won (783.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. Enditem

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