Gyeongnam Economy Continues Recovery... Upward Trend Keeps Rising Steadily

Increase in Defense Orders and LNG Ship Contracts, Trade Balance Surplus, etc.

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 19th that the local economy is on a recovery trend centered around the province's key industries.

According to Gyeongsangnam-do, although nationwide manufacturing production decreased for six consecutive months as of March this year compared to the same month last year, production and consumption in Gyeongsangnam-do have been continuously rising since November last year.

Since October last year, the trade balance has also turned positive, reaching a maximum of 1.216 billion dollars in April.

Table of National and Gyeongnam Manufacturing Production Index. [Source: Statistics Korea]

In March this year, the manufacturing production index for shipbuilding, automobiles, and machinery recorded 116.9, higher than the national average of 109.2, marking a 4.6% increase compared to the same month last year.

Among these, machinery increased by 17.4%, automobiles by 12.5%, and shipbuilding production by 19.6%.

Table of National and Gyeongnam Trade Balance Analysis. [Source: Korea International Trade Association]

The province analyzed this as the strong effect of key industries such as shipbuilding, automobiles, machinery, and metal processing.

Major factors cited include the sale of about 14,000 automobiles produced at the Korea GM Changwon plant and the resumption of deliveries of small vessels and large container ships.

According to the province, sales at large retail stores in the Gyeongsangnam-do region in March also increased by 12.8% compared to the same month last year.

The consumer sentiment index, which had been rising since June last year, surpassed the baseline of 100 for the first time in 10 months, reaching 100.8 in April.

The employment rate in April rose by 0.9% compared to the same month last year, matching the national average at 62.7%, the highest in five years, while the unemployment rate fell by 1.4% to 2.0%, the lowest nationwide and the lowest in nine years.

The number of employed persons increased by 18,000 compared to the same month last year, and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 26,000.

The province expects the positive economic indicators in Gyeongsangnam-do to continue for some time, as defense orders from companies such as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hyundai Rotem, and Hanwha Aerospace, which have business sites in Gyeongsangnam-do, as well as shipbuilding orders and automobile production, continue to rise.

No Young-sik, Director of the Economic and Enterprise Bureau, said, “Key industries in Gyeongsangnam-do such as shipbuilding, automobiles, machinery, defense, and nuclear power, which have faced difficulties for a long time, are showing clear growth this year, and domestic demand such as consumption is also improving. We will do our best to expand industrial manpower, provide financial support, and resolve corporate difficulties so that this year can be a new leap forward for the Gyeongsangnam-do economy.”

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