The rise in the number of subscribers to the nation's employment insurance continued to slow as subscribers among people in their 20s and younger and those in their 40s further dropped due to population decline and other factors.

According to the labor ministry on Monday, there were 15-point-39 million employment insurance subscribers as of late May, up 39-thousand from a month earlier.

The total number of subscribers rose by 240-thousand from a year earlier but the year-on-year increase has been gradually falling from 341-thousand in January.

By age group, subscribers in their 20s and younger and those in their 40s fell by 89-thousand and 34-thousand, respectively, with both age groups setting a new record-high decline since the ministry began compiling related data in 1997.

By industry, subscribers in the manufacturing and service sectors increased by 43-thousand and 200-thousand, respectively, while falling by eight-thousand in the construction sector to continue a ten-month streak of decline.