SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims fell in three months due to lower demand in the manufacturing, the education service and the wholesale and retail sectors, labor ministry data showed Monday.

The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits was 84,000 in June, down 4.0 percent compared to the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The number marked the first slide in three months amid lingering worry about economic slowdown.

The benefit applicants decreased in the manufacturing, the education service and the wholesale and retail industries, but the reading in the construction, the information and communications and the public administration sectors rose 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 623,000 in June, down 3.0 percent from a year earlier.

The total payment of job-seeking benefits reduced 7.5 percent to 948 billion won (687.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. Enditem

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