S. Korea's consumption, jobs facing limited recovery on COVID-19 resurgence: gov't report

SEOUL - South Korea's consumption and employment was faced with a limited recovery amid the COVID-19 resurgence here, a government report said Friday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly economic assessment report, called Green Book, that the COVID-19 resurgence here since mid-August restricted a recovery in domestic demand and employment.

The ministry noted that economic uncertainty continued despite an export recovery.

The COVID-19 resurged here in August and September due to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area linked to church services and a massive rally in central Seoul on Aug 15.

Credit card spending grew 6.4 percent in September from a year earlier, but revenue in department stores declined 4.1 percent in the month.

Online shopping surged 27.5 percent in September as people refrained from offline shopping amid the fear of the virus infection. Shopping in the cyberspace jumped 35.5 percent in August.

The consumer sentiment index (CSI) stood at 79.4 in September, marking the lowest since May.

The number of those employed reduced 392,000 in September from a year earlier, posting the fastest slide in four months since May.

Production in the mining and manufacturing industry slipped 0.7 percent in August from the previous month, while output in the services sector shrank 1.0 percent.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, gained 7.6 percent in September from a year ago thanks to a partial recovery in global demand.