4월 1∼10일 수출 18.6%↓…3월 실업급여 지급액 9천억원 '역대 최대'

The number of South Koreans seeking unemployment benefit soared to a record high in March as the coronavirus pandemic took a hit at Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The COVID-19 led disruption in production and trade around the globe is also being reflected in the country's export numbers.
Our Eum Jiyoung reports.
South Korean exports in the first ten days of this month... were down almost 19 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to the Korea Customs Service, shipments in the first 10 days of April fell 18-point-6 percent on-year to 12-point-2 billion U.S. dollars.
Exports of petroleum products were down nearly 48 percent, and automobile parts more than 30 percent.
Shipments to China slipped more than 10 percent, while those to the U.S. and Europe were down more than 3 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Imports also fell by 13 percent on year, to 14-point-6 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, the amount of state allowances paid to unemployed South Koreans looking for jobs rose to an all-time high in March as the pandemic caused layoffs to skyrocket.
Ministry of Employment and Labor says the government in March paid out roughly 739 million dollars in unemployment benefits... up a whopping 40-point-4 percent from the same month last year. This broke the previous record of about 642 million dollars set just the month before.
The ministry also said roughly 156-thousand people newly applied for the benefit last month,... up about 25 percent on-year.
But reflecting the lack of hiring right now, the number of new subscribers to employment insurance rose by only 1-point-9 percent, the lowest level in 16 years.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News.