Economic Bulletin | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

발행물

Economic Trends

The Green Book: Current Economic Trends

Overview The Korean economy has seen inflation remain stable, while employment growth has been slowing down, and major economic indicators including production, consumption and investment have been sluggish. In January, the economy added 322,000 jobs year-on-year, posting a slight improvement from 277,000 in the previous month, but the employment rate remained stagnant, showing no change from the previous year. Consumer price inflation stayed stable in the 1 percent range in February, down from the previous months 1.5 percent to 1.4 percent, as falling livestock product prices offset increases in agricultural and petroleum product prices. Mining and manufacturing production fell 1.5 percent month-on-month in January due to weak audio- visual communications equipment and semiconductors, while service output decreased by 0.9 percent because of shrinking real estate renting and wholesale retail. Despite an increase in semi-durable goods sales, retail sales in January fell 2.0 percent from the previous month due to a decrease in durable goods sales. Facility investment in January dropped 6.5 percent month-on-month due to weak transportation equipment and machinery investment. Construction investment went up 0.2 percent, led by an improvement in building construction. Exports fell 8.6 percent year-on-year in February, despite increased average daily exports, due to a reduction in working days as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in February. The trade balance remained in the black at US$2.54 billion. The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index stayed unchanged month-on-month in January, and the leading composite index fell 0.2 points. In February, both the stock prices and the won rose as uncertainties over North Koreas nuclear tests eased, alertness to the weakening yen waned, and foreign investors became net buyers of Korean stocks. The decline in housing prices slowed from 0.3 percent to 0.2 percent in January, while rental prices continued to increase by 0.3 percent. External uncertainties linger as there are concerns arising from the US sequester, Italys political instability and the slow recovery of the European economy. Domestic uncertainties also persist due to weak consumption and sluggish investment. The Korean government will closely watch the global and domestic economic situations, and reinforce policy responses to stimulate the economy. At the same time, the government will focus on securing the lives of the low- and middle-income classes through job creation and by stabilizing the prices of necessities, while continuing to adopt policies to improve the health of the economy. * For further details, please refer to the attached file

Mar 2013