|
|
▲ Seoul Myeongdong shopping street. |
[에너지경제신문 나유라 기자] Various economic indicators, which crashed due to the third pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), have gradually solidified and stretched from last month. However, despite the improvement of the overall indicators, the pace of recovery by industry and sector is different, so it is not too pessimistic that the sectors affected by Corona 19 will continue to be sluggish.
On the 21st, various economic indicators show that consumption, which was suppressed while export improvement continues, is also expanding.
Exports in February increased 9.5% even though the operating days were three days less than a year ago, and continued an increase for the fourth month. The average daily export amount was 2.3 billion dollars, the highest in the same month.
Some consumption, which has plunged due to the third pandemic, is also recovering.
The amount of card approval in Korea stopped decreasing from the same month last year for two consecutive months in December (-3.9%) and January (-2.0%) and turned to an increase of 8.6% in February.
Among them, department store sales in February increased 39.5% compared to the same month last year, recording the highest growth rate since 2005, when the government started monitoring.
It is analyzed that the sales of Hyundai Department Store on the 5th to 7th, the first weekend of this month, increased 109.8% from the first weekend in March last year and 94% at Lotte Department Store, surpassing the level before the Corona 19 incident. Consumption seems to have rebounded as some easing of social distancing measures, the warm spring weather, and retaliation consumption are combined.
Although there are still 400 confirmed cases of Corona 19 per day, it is an analysis that the extent of the damage to consumption is gradually decreasing due to the’learning effect’ on the coronavirus situation.
Employment in February is still a large decline in the number of employed people compared to a year ago, but it has improved from the worst in January.
The decline in the number of employed workers in January, which reached 982,000 compared to the same month last year, decreased to 473,000 in February.
In particular, it is noteworthy that the number of employed in the lodging and restaurant business, a representative industry hit by Corona 19, increased by 98,000 from the previous month. This is the largest increase since the statistics were prepared in February 2013.
However, experts remain cautious, saying that it is unknown whether the economy will enter a full recovery. Although the economy seems to have escaped the worst, it is analyzed that the situation is still not good for industries that have been hit by Corona 19, such as in-person service, tourism, and aviation. Also, it is interpreted that it is not clear whether consumption has actually recovered, considering the underlying effect. He pointed out that even if the overall indicator improves, as long as Corona 19 continues, the sectors that are directly affected will continue to struggle, and the polarization of each sector will inevitably intensify.
In addition, the fact that Corona 19 can spread at any time even in domestic and foreign vaccinations is considered a variable in the domestic economy. It is an analysis that if the number of confirmed cases increases due to the re-proliferation of Corona 19 and the level of social distancing is adjusted upward, the indicator may sink again, centering on the face-to-face service industry.