A record number of people received government unemployment benefits last month amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday, 759-thousand people were paid job-seeking benefits in March, breaking the previous record of 731-thousand last July.

The amount paid out last month stood at one-point-17 trillion won, close to the current record of one-point-18 trillion won in July 2020.

Meanwhile, the number of people covered by state employment insurance rose by 322-thousand, or two-point-three percent on-year, to 14-point-08 million.

The number of those insured increased, reflecting new employment in the service, health care, welfare, education and public administration sectors.