The Top Economic Issue for the New Year is 'Living Costs'... Perceived Economy Rises for the 3rd Consecutive Quarter

Next Year's Economic Issues: 'Living Costs' Followed by 'Youth Unemployment and Employment Problems', 'Increase in Household Debt from Housing Loans'
Seoul Institute Announces 'Q4 Seoul Consumer Sentiment and Major 2022 Economic Issues'
Consumer Attitude Index Rises for Third Consecutive Quarter to 95.3... Housing Purchase Attitude Index Declines

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul citizens identified 'living costs' as the most notable economic issue for next year. They anticipated that the economy in the coming year will still face challenges due to the impact of COVID-19 and issues faced by small business owners.

On the 27th, the Seoul Institute announced the results of the '4th Quarter Seoul Consumer Sentiment and Major Economic Issues for 2022' survey, revealing that the top economic issue for Seoul citizens next year (based on first priority) was 'living costs' (19.2%). This was followed by 'youth unemployment and employment issues' (17.3%), 'housing loans and household debt increase' (9.8%), 'Korean presidential election results' (8.3%), 'income polarization' (6.1%), and 'consumer sentiment and domestic economy' (5.7%).

When asked 'how much improvement is expected for each economic issue next year,' Seoul citizens gave scores below the baseline of 100 for all economic issues. The scores were 92.4 for 'COVID-19's impact on the economy,' 87.3 for 'small business owner issues,' 86.8 for 'stock market,' 85.1 for 'youth unemployment and employment,' 83.6 for 'household income,' and 83.5 for 'consumer sentiment and domestic economy,' indicating that improvement in all economic issues is expected to be difficult.

The outlook for economic issues next year compared to this year is converted on a 200-point scale, where 'very much worsened' is 0 points, 'somewhat worsened' is 50 points, 'unchanged' is 100 points, 'slightly improved' is 150 points, and 'very much improved' is 200 points.

However, the Consumer Attitude Index for the 4th quarter of this year rose by 2.1 points from the previous quarter to 95.3, maintaining an upward trend for three consecutive quarters. Expectations for overcoming COVID-19 and returning to normal life were reflected, bringing the index close to the baseline of 100, but future variables include the emergence of COVID-19 variants, the possibility of a 5th wave, and various economic uncertainties.

Additionally, both components of the Consumer Attitude Index?the Current Living Conditions Index and the Future Living Conditions Index?showed slight increases compared to the previous quarter. The Current Living Conditions Index rose by 0.3 points to 79.5, and the Future Living Conditions Index increased by 0.5 points to 97.6.

Meanwhile, the Durable Goods Purchase Attitude Index rose by 1.2 points to 82.8 compared to the previous quarter, whereas the Housing Purchase Attitude Index fell by 1.3 points to 56.7. Looking at the Housing Purchase Attitude Index by annual household income, households earning less than 24 million KRW saw the largest drop of 7.4 points from the previous quarter, followed by those earning between 36 million and 48 million KRW with a decrease of 5.4 points, and those earning between 24 million and 36 million KRW with a decline of 4.1 points.

Meanwhile, the Employment Outlook Index, which had declined in the previous quarter, rebounded with a 9.6-point increase to 85.6, and the Net Asset Index also rose by 2.3 points to 98.0. The Price Expectation Index slightly decreased by 0.4 points to 132.9.

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