Q2 National Employment Rate Rebounds After 5 Quarters... Manufacturing Production Growth Hits Largest in 11 Years

Industrial Production Up 13%... Daegu and Gwangju Up 30%
Exports Surge 42%... Largest Increase Since 1977
Inflation Rises 2.5%... Largest Increase in 9 Years

Semiconductor wafer. (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The national employment rate in the second quarter of this year turned upward for the first time in five quarters. This figure does not reflect the impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19. Seoul still showed the highest unemployment rate nationwide. However, with increased semiconductor and automobile production, industrial production and exports rose sharply.

According to the '2021 Second Quarter Regional Economic Trends' released by Statistics Korea on the 18th, the national employment rate in the second quarter was 61%, up 1 percentage point (p) from a year earlier, marking an upward turn after five quarters.

By age group, the employment rate increased for those in their 20s (2.1%p), ages 15-19 (1.9%p), and those in their 50s (1.2%p). By region, Daegu (3.2%p), Jeju (2.5%p), and Jeonbuk (2.2%p) saw increases.

The unemployment rate was highest in Seoul (5.2%), Incheon (4.8%), Daegu (4.3%), and Gyeonggi (4.2%). The relatively high unemployment rate in the Seoul metropolitan area, where there are many high-income regular workers and so-called 'quality jobs,' was above the national average.

National industrial production increased by 13% compared to a year ago. This was the largest increase in 11 years since the second quarter of 2010, which saw an 18.7% rise. After stagnating at 0% in the fourth quarter of last year and rising 4.4% in the first quarter of this year, the growth rate surged to 13% in the second quarter.

By region, Gwangju (29.4%), Daegu (28.2%), and Chungbuk (19.6%) saw significant increases.

The strong domestic industrial production also contributed to the rebound in exports. National exports increased by 42.1%, marking the highest growth rate in 44 years since the first quarter of 1977, which recorded 44.3%.

A Statistics Korea official explained, "Increased semiconductor and automobile production in the Gwangju and Daegu regions influenced the rise in national industrial production and exports."

Service industry production also rose by 5.7% nationwide. Seoul, with a large share of finance and insurance, had the highest growth rate at 8%.

As overall economic indicators showed an upward trend, inflation also rose. Consumer prices nationwide increased by 2.5% in the second quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of increase. The 2.5% rise is the highest in nine years since the first quarter of 2012, which recorded 3.0%.

Prices rose in all cities and provinces nationwide, with Jeju (3.3%), Jeonbuk (3.0%), and Chungnam (2.9%) recording increases higher than the national average of 2.5%. The rise was mainly due to petroleum products.

A Statistics Korea official said, "Supply shortages due to poor harvests (agricultural products), rising international oil prices (petroleum products), and increases in apartment management fees and insurance premiums (personal services) affected the rise in prices."

Consumption (retail sales) increased by 4.4% nationwide. Jeju (15.7%), Seoul (6.4%), and Busan (4.8%) saw large increases. This was due to increased sales at duty-free shops, passenger car and fuel retail stores.

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