Here’s a look at Korea’s major economic indicators that provide an overview of the country’s recent economic developments.
※ source : International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank of Korea (BOK), Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)
August Economic Trends In July 2022, the economy added 826,000 jobs year-on-year, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points from a year ago to 2.9 percent. Consumer prices grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year in July due to higher increases in agricultural, livestock and fishery product prices and the core inflation rose by 4.5 percent. Stock prices grew in July as KOSPI gained by 5.10% from 2,332.6 points at the end of June to 2,451.5 points at the end of July due to some easing of volatility in the global financial market. In the FX market, the won’s depreciation eased slightly with the won-dollar exchange rate closing at 1,298.4 won in June and at 1,299.1 won in July. Housing prices decline was faster in July, and prices of Jeonse (lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments) also saw a faster decline while Korean treasury yields fell as well. While the economy has continued to improve gradually due to recovery in employment and in-person service industries, amid continued high inflation and declines in some indicators of economic sentiment caused by external factors, there are concerns of economic slowdown such as a drag on export recovery in the future.
※ Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance (moef.go.kr)https://moef.go.kr)
*This article is extracted from Invest KOREA information center, 2022.