Statistics Korea Statistical Development Institute Publishes KOSTAT Statistics Plus Summer Issue

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Statistics Korea published the summer 2021 issue of 'KOSTAT Statistics Plus' on the 29th, which analyzes current issues in economic, social, and population statistics and applies national statistics using artificial intelligence and data science.

According to Statistics Korea, this issue particularly analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on private education and the income and consumption behaviors of self-employed and wage worker households as part of supporting economic and social policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

First, in the issue analysis titled 'The Impact of COVID-19 on Participation and Expenditure in Private Education,' the results of the '2020 Elementary, Middle, and High School Private Education Expenditure Survey' were used to understand how COVID-19 affected participation and expenditure patterns in private education for elementary, middle, and high school students. At the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, participation rates in private education, especially in arts and physical education, sharply decreased (elementary school -24.3 percentage points), but as the pandemic prolonged, private education expenses per participating student shifted to an increasing trend.

In the '2020 Income and Consumption Expenditure of Self-Employed and Wage Worker Households' section, changes in income and consumption were examined through lifestyle patterns. Both self-employed and wage worker households experienced income increases due to previous income sources (such as emergency disaster relief funds), and in the first quarter immediately following the COVID-19 outbreak, wage worker households showed a larger decrease in expenditures.

Jeon Young-il, President of the Statistics Development Institute, emphasized, "To achieve an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, in-depth analysis of vulnerable groups in the blind spots of education and economic policies can contribute to timely evidence-based policy support," and added, "We hope this will promote the establishment of national data governance to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era."

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