Economic Bulletin, March 2025
Current Economic Trends
Overview
In December 2025, industrial production, services production, retail sales, and construction investment increased, while facility investment declined. In January 2026, the increase in the number of employed persons narrowed, and consumer prices rose at a slower pace.
In December, production in the industrial sector (up 1.5% m-o-m and up 1.8% y-o-y), construction sector (up 12.1% m-o-m and down 4.2% y-o-y) and services sector (up 1.1% m-o-m and up 3.7% y-o-y) rose, leading to an increase in total industrial sector (up 1.59% m-o-m and up 1.8% y-o-y).
In December, the cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index moved down by 0.2 points and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index moved up by 0.6 points.
In December, retail sales went up (up 0.9% m-o-m and up 1.2% y-o-y), while facilities investment went down (down 3.6% m-o-m and down 10.3% y-o-y).
In January, the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) went up by 1.0 points month-on-month to 110.8. The Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) decreased by 0.2 points to 94.0 in January, and the CBSI outlook for February rose by 1.0 points to 91.0.
In January, exports climbed by 33.9 percent year-on-year, supported by strong semiconductor performance. Average daily exports rose by 14.0 percent compared to the same month of previous year.
In January, the number of employed persons grew by 108,000 jobs compared to the same month last year and the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percent points to 4.1 percent.
In January, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed by 2.0 percent year-on-year, as the pace of increase in agricultural, livestock and fisheries product prices moderated.. The index when excluding food and energy prices grew by 2.0 percent from a year ago.
In January, housing prices (up 0.28% m-o-m) and Jeonse (lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments) prices rose (0.27% m-o-m).
In January, Korean equity prices went up, Korean Treasury Bond yields rose, and the Korean Won weakened against the dollar.
Recently, the Korean economy has continued to show a recovery trend, supported by improvements in domestic demand such as consumption and strong export performance led by semiconductors.
Indicators that had recorded strong gains in the third quarter temporarily were adjusted in October due to base effects, but resumed a recovery trend from November onwards. However, employment difficulties in vulnerable sectors persist, with uncertainties remaining over the pace of recovery in construction investment and the impact of U.S. tariff measures.
The global economy faces continued volatility in the global financial markets and energy prices, along with concerns over slowing trade and growth, amid a worsening trade environment stemming from tariff measures imposed by major economies and heightened geopolitical uncertainties.
With an aim to broaden the momentum of the economic recovery going forward, the government plans to continue to implement proactive macroeconomic policies and pursue targeted measures to revitalize consumption, investment, and exports. It plans to also move forward expeditiously with the 2026 Economic Growth Strategy to boost potential growth, promote balanced growth, address economic polarization, and strengthen the foundations for a major economic leap.
