SEOUL – South Korea’s jobless rate rose to a near two-year high in December, official data showed on Wednesday.
The country’s unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, higher than 2.8 percent in November and the highest since January 2022, according to Statistics Korea.
For the year 2023, South Korea’s annual unemployment rate stood at 2.7 percent, falling for the third straight year and marking the lowest since the data release started in 2000.
South Korea’s government will put its focus on supporting people’s livelihoods and managing risk factors, as it cut the country’s 2024 GDP forecast and raised its inflation projection.
In its biannual economic policy plan, the finance ministry expected the economy to grow 2.2 percent in 2024, down from 2.4 percent seen in July, after expanding 1.4 percent in 2023 which was a three-year low.
The ministry expected consumer prices to rise 2.6 percent this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.3 percent. In 2023, prices rose 3.6 percent.
“The economic recovery will be stronger (than last year) amid improvements in global trade and demand for semiconductors, but there will be difficulties in domestic demand and people’s livelihoods due to persistently high inflation and interest rates,” the ministry said.
The government will primarily focus on economic recovery for the common people, while managing potential risk factors, it said.
South Korea’s exports rose for a third straight month in December as demand for chips started to pick up, raising hopes for an economic recovery driven by semiconductor exports.
