Korean Economy Continues to Strengthen

By Don Southerton
Korean economic indicators seem to be positive and signs of recovery strengthening. Employment is also on the upswing.

GDP Growth
Chosun Ilbo notes
Korea to Post Higher-Than-Expected Growth for Q3
Korea's economy is expected to post growth of around 2 percent for the third quarter, far exceeding the government's original prediction of 1 percent. The economy already grew a surprise 2.6 percent in the second quarter.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday, GDP growth is expected to be higher than the estimate thanks to increases in exports, spending and production.

The BOK had in July predicted little more than zero growth for the third quarter. The state-funded Korea Development Institute forecast 1.4 percent growth. BOK Governor Lee Seong-tae said in the Monetary Policy Committee on Oct. 9, "The figures for the third quarter will be stronger than originally expected thanks to inventory adjustment."

Jobs
Korea Times notes
South Korea's jobless rate fell to the lowest level in nine months in September amid growing signs that the local economy is recovering at a faster pace than other countries, according to a report released by Statistics Korea (formerly National Statistical Office) Wednesday.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, down from 3.7 percent the previous month. The figure marks the lowest level since December last year when the rate was 3.3 percent.

The number of employed people also surged to 23.8 million last month, up 71,000 from a year earlier, after the economy added mere 3,000 new jobs year-on-year in August, the report showed.



BTW Check out Korea Business Central