Jobless benefit filings hit record high in Jan.

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- The number of new applicants for unemployment benefits
in South Korea reached a record high last month as the nation suffered a
sharper-than-expected economic slump, the Labor Ministry said Monday.
A total of 128,000 filed for unemployment insurance last month, the largest
figure on a monthly basis since the ministry began offering jobless benefits in
July 1996.
The ministry said it paid out a total of 276 billion won (US$201 million) to
354,000 jobless people last month, compared with 219 billion won a year earlier
and 249 billion won in December.
The South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, shrank 5.6 percent last quarter
from three months earlier, the sharpest fall since the Asian financial crisis a
decade ago, due to tumbling exports and weak domestic demand.
Many experts predict the local economy will shrink this year. The International
Monetary Fund has forecast a 4 percent contraction in 2009.
South Korea's jobless rate rose to 3.3 percent in December from the previous
month's 3.1 percent -- the first contraction in job growth in five years.
sam@yna.co.kr
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