An analysis showed that the Korean economy recovered about 80% compared to the time when the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was the most shocked. However, employment only recovered by 25%.
On the 17th, the Hyundai Economic Research Institute released a report entitled’HRI Corona Crisis Overcome Index Analysis and Implications’. The Hyundai Economic Research Institute calculated the’HRI Corona Crisis Overcome Index’, which means how far the economy has escaped from the corona shock by analyzing the retail sales index, export shipment index, number of employed, and industrial production index of the National Statistical Office. The current index is calculated after setting it as 100 points (p) for January of last year and 0p for the time when the corona 19 shock was the most severe (May of last year).
The Corona Crisis Overcome Index was found to be 79.3p as of November last year. This means that various economic indicators have risen to 79.3% of the pre-corona situation. It is also possible to interpret that 20.7% of the productivity is still separated.
By sector, such as consumption (domestic), export, employment, industrial production, etc., it was analyzed that exports rather than consumption and manufacturing were stronger than service industries. The export crisis recovery index was 163.7p, which was better than before Corona 19. It is interpreted as the impact that exports in 2019 were not so good. On the other hand, the consumption index was 74.1p. The researcher diagnosed that “the export market is in a serious state of polarization,” saying, “The crisis recovery index for the sectors excluding information and communication technology (ICT) was only 80.4p.”
In the production sector, the manufacturing industry’s crisis recovery index was 99.3p, close to the level before Corona 19. However, as the face-to-face service industry stagnated due to the effects of quarantine, etc., the service industry recorded only 77.9p.
The employment crisis recovery index was 25.5p. The researcher analyzed that “the employment index has the characteristics of lagging the economy, and the recovery of the employment sector was relatively slow as the COVID-19 employment shock was concentrated in labor-intensive industries such as wholesale and retail, food and lodging, and education services.” He added, “We need more intensive support for vulnerable sectors in the economy,” and emphasized, “Efforts to expand public jobs and prevent private job declines must be carried out at the same time.”
Reporter Seong Soo-young [email protected]
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