[Economic Outlook] Announcement of Next Year's Economic Policy Direction... Focus on COVID-19 Response Measures

Household Livelihood Indicator 'Financial Welfare Survey' Released
Latest Statistics on Liquidity and Business Conditions Also Announced

On the 3rd, as quarantine measures in the metropolitan area were being strengthened to curb the spread of the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection, Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Seoul, appeared quiet. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government will announce next year's economic policy direction this week. Attention is focused on this year's and next year's economic growth rate forecasts, policy measures to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis, and statistics on the sharply increased market liquidity due to the surge in loans.

Interest is concentrated on the economic growth rate forecasts for this year and next year, and policy measures to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, which will be included in the government's '2021 Economic Policy Direction.'

The Statistics Korea will release the 'November Employment Trends' on the 16th. In October, employment decreased by 421,000 due to the resurgence of COVID-19, marking the largest decline in six months. It is expected to be observed whether employment sluggishness continued last month as well.

On the 17th, the results of the '2020 Household Finance and Welfare Survey' will be disclosed. The Household Finance and Welfare Survey is a comprehensive statistic showing the income and consumption status, assets, and interest burden of households in Korea.

Last year's announcement showed that the average household debt was 79.1 million won, an increase of 3.2% compared to the previous year. The Gini coefficient based on equivalized disposable income recorded 0.345, the lowest level since statistics began in 2011, indicating that income disparity had decreased to a historic minimum.

The Bank of Korea will announce the 'Monetary and Liquidity Statistics for October' on the 15th. In September, the broad money supply (M2 basis) was 3,115.8 trillion won, an increase of 14.2 trillion won (0.5%) compared to August.

In October, amid the COVID-19 situation and low interest rates, it is expected that households and companies continued to draw on loans, leading to a continued increase in market money supply.

On the 17th, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol is scheduled to share his thoughts on economic issues at a press conference reviewing the 'Price Stability Target Operation Status.'

On the same day, the Bank of Korea will release the '3rd Quarter Corporate Business Analysis' results. The 2nd quarter survey showed that domestic companies' sales decreased by 10.1% compared to the 2nd quarter of last year due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors.

It is highly likely that many companies faced management difficulties such as sluggish sales and reduced profits in the 3rd quarter as well.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.