Current Economic Situation, October 2022

Services, Retail Sales, Facilities and Construction Investment Up, Manufacturing Down

Services, retail sales, facilities and construction investment rose in August while manufacturing declined. Employment continued to increase in September and consumer prices rose at a slower pace.

Industrial production decreased by 0.3 percent from the previous month in August as services (up 1.5%, m-o-m and up 7.1%, y-o-y) went up but manufacturing (down 1.8%, m-o-m and up 1.0%, y-o-y) declined.

Retail sales (up 4.3%, m-o-m and up 2.3%, y-o-y), facilities investment (up 8.8%, m-o-m and up 11.8%, y-o-y) and construction investment (up 5.0%, m-o-m and up 7.5%, y-o-y) all increased in August.

Exports rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year in September led by petroleum products and cars. Average daily exports increased by 0.4 percent from a year ago to US $2.67 billion in September 2022 from US $2.66 billion in September 2021.

The consumer sentiment index (CSI) increased by 2.6 points in September to 91.4 from the previous month. The business survey index (BSI) for the entire sector went down by 3 points to 78, and the BSI outlook for October 2022 declined by 3 points to 79 from the previous month.

The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index for August increased by 0.5 points and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index fell by 0.2 points.

The economy added 707,000 jobs year-on-year in September and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points from a year ago to 2.4 percent.

The consumer prices grew by 5.6 percent year-on-year in September although at a slower pace than the previous month due to continued stability in petroleum prices, and the core inflation rose by 4.5 percent.

In September, Korean treasury yields rose, the won weakened, and stock prices declined due to concerns regarding major economies’ acceleration of tight monetary policy and volatility in the UK financial market.

Housing prices decline is faster in August (-0.08% → -0.29%, m-o-m), and prices of Jeonse (lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments) also saw a faster decline (-0.08% → -0.28%, m-o-m).

While the economy has continued to improve gradually due to recovery in employment and in-person service industries, amid continued high inflation and deteriorating economic sentiment due to external factors, there are concerns of economic slowdown such as a drag on export recovery in the future.  

Internationally, with global inflationary pressure continuously rising, financial market volatility and global economic downside risks grow due to major economies’ rapid interest rate increases, concerns about the expansion of the Russia-Ukraine war and China’s lockdown measures.   

The government will make its utmost efforts to boost the private economy and strengthen risk management efforts, while also focusing on taming prices and stabilizing people’s livelihood. It will also press ahead with improving the current account balance and implementing structural reforms. 

Key Statistics

Employment

Consumer Price Index

                                                                                         (%)

Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production

                (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

2. Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production

3. End-point (month, quarter, and year)

4. Average operation ratio for the month (or quarter)

Service Output

           (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

      1. Preliminary

Retail Sales

(Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Facility Investment Index

     (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Construction Completed

 (Percentage change from the previous period, %)

1. Preliminary

Exports and Imports

 (US$ billion, y-o-y, %)

Composite Indices of Coincident and Leading Indicators

                                                                                           (Points)