Service Industry Production Increased in 16 Cities and Provinces Last Year Due to Vaccination... Retail Sales Also Up

Statistics Korea Announces 'Q4 2021 and Annual Service Industry Production and Retail Sales Trends by City and Province'
Seoul Service Industry Production Growth Rate Highest at 5.9%...Retail Sales Increased Except in Incheon and Ulsan

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Last year, with the expansion of vaccination and the easing of social distancing, consumption, which had sharply contracted since the outbreak of COVID-19, has revived. Service industry production increased across all 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, and retail sales also rose in most regions except for two.

According to the "2021 4th Quarter and Annual Metropolitan City and Province Service Industry Production and Retail Sales Trends" released by Statistics Korea on the 10th, nationwide service industry production increased by 4.3% compared to the previous year.

Looking at the growth rates by metropolitan city and province, Seoul increased the most at 5.9%, followed by Gyeonggi (4.3%), Busan (4.1%), Gangwon (4.0%), Daegu (3.2%), and Chungnam (3.8%), with service industry production rising simultaneously in all regions.

In Seoul, all sectors increased, including finance and insurance (10.8%), transportation and warehousing (13.9%), wholesale and retail trade (3.8%), information and communication (2.9%), and health and social welfare (3.4%). Ulsan saw decreases in associations, repair, and personal services (-2.8%), but increases in education (3.4%), finance and insurance (3.6%), and health and social welfare (2.4%) offset the declines.

Nationwide retail sales last year increased by 5.5% compared to the previous year. Except for Incheon (-1.0%) and Ulsan (-1.3%), retail sales growth was prominent in all regions.

Seoul had the highest retail sales growth rate at 6.4%, followed by Busan (6.4%), Jeju (5.7%), Daejeon (3.9%), and Jeonnam (3.9%). Seoul's retail sales increased in department stores (23.2%) and duty-free shops (19.0%), but decreased in supermarkets, miscellaneous goods stores, and convenience stores (-5.2%) and large discount stores (-5.1%). In Busan, retail sales decreased in supermarkets, miscellaneous goods stores, and convenience stores (-4.6%) and duty-free shops (-37.0%), but increased in passenger car and fuel retail stores (11.1%) and department stores (19.1%), driving overall retail sales growth.

In Incheon, retail sales increased in passenger car and fuel retail stores (1.9%) and specialty retail stores (2.6%), but decreased in duty-free shops (-74.1%) and supermarkets, miscellaneous goods stores, and convenience stores (-4.7%), resulting in a 1% decline compared to the previous year.

In the 4th quarter of last year, service industry production increased in all 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, rising 5.4% compared to the same period the previous year. Retail sales increased in 14 metropolitan cities and provinces, achieving a 6.2% growth.

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