The number of subscribers to South Korea's employment insurance payments rose by nearly 400-thousand on-year last month, returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday, close to 14-point-three million people were subscribed to employment insurance in November, up 394-thousand from a year earlier.

The on-year rise is the highest since 428-thousand in December 2019.

While the service industry led the recovery in subscriptions with an increase of 411-thousand in November compared to a year earlier, half of those were in public administration, including those involving state-led job creation projects.

Subscription in the pandemic-hit lodging and food industries, meanwhile, dropped by 23-thousand, with the margin rising from 22-thousand in October.

The number of subscribers in the manufacturing sector also declined by 34-thousand, while that of the auto industry fell seven-thousand.

The government's job-seeker allowance, on the other hand, totaled 914 billion won in November, up 54 percent from the same month last year.