People line up to buy face masks in front of a department store in Seoul, South Korea, March 3, 2020, the last day for the store to sell face masks, with each person allowed to buy a maximum of five pieces.(Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

South Korea's initial jobless claims posted a double-digit growth last month as job losses increased on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak, a government report showed Monday.

The number of those who newly applied for job-seeking benefits in April was 129,000, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It was up 33.0 percent, or 32,000, from the same month of last year.

The job-seeking benefits are offered by the government to help the unemployed seek jobs, accounting for a majority of unemployment benefits. It is financed by the state employment insurance funds.

The number of job-seeking benefit receivers totaled 651,000 in April, up 25.2 percent, or 131,000, from a year ago. An average 1,526,000 won (1,250 U.S. dollars) was paid to the beneficiaries.

It came as companies encouraged employees to go on an unpaid leave or be laid off amid rising worry about the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The payment of job-seeking benefits hit a record monthly high of 993.3 billion won (813.8 million U.S. dollars) in April, up 34.6 percent from a year earlier.

The record-breaking trend continued for three straight months owing to an increased benefit payment and a higher number of claims.