South Korea's Economy Grew 13% In 4th Quarter, Meeting Forecasts
Dow Jones Newswires
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's gross domestic product grew 13% on year during the fourth quarter of 1999, compared with a contraction of 5.9% during the same quarter a year before, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.
For the full-year 1999, GDP grew 10.7%, compared with a contraction of 6.7% in 1998, the central bank said in its preliminary report. The latest figures were in line with market expectations of 13.1% growth for the fourth quarter and a 10.1% rise for whole year.
The central bank had previously said it expected the GDP to grow 10.2% in 1999. The 10.7% growth recorded in 1999 represents the country's highest annual growth rate since the GDP grew 11% in 1988.
The strong growth, it said, was attributed to a rapid recovery in the country's private spending, capital investment, exports and domestic sales as the economy rebounded from a severe slump in 1998 following a currency crisis late the year before.
South Korea's GDP climbed 12.8% on year in the third quarter of last year. Seasonally adjusted GDP rose 2.8% during the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, slowing from 3.3% growth in the third quarter.
In 1999, private consumption rose 10.3%, compared with a drop of 11.4% a year ago, due to an increase in consumer spending on durable goods such as cars, mobile phones, personal computers and electronics goods such as televisions and video tape recorders.
Government expenditures, meanwhile, fell 0.6% compared with a drop of 0.4% a year ago.
Capital investment rose 38% last year as a result of a sharp rise in investments in machinery and transportation equipment. Capital investment declined 38.8% in 1998 as companies cut their spending amid restructuring efforts.
South Korea's exports of goods and services were up 16.3% in 1999, compared with a rise of 13.2% in the year-ago period, while imports of goods and services surged 28.9% from a fall of 22.4% a year ago.
The Bank of Korea said output in the agricultural-forestry-fishery industry grew 4.7% last year, compared with a drop of 6.6% a year ago, thanks to a rise in production of agricultural products and livestock. Manufacturing output rose 21.8% from a fall of 7.4% a year ago.
Output of electricity, gas and tap water climbed a combined 9.1% because of a rise in consumption of electricity and city gas. The output rose 0.6% in 1998.
Construction industry output declined 10.1% in 1999, compared with a 8.6% fall in 1998, due to a sharp fall in construction of commercial and apartment buildings.
Jobless Rate Is Unchanged in February at 5.3%
Meanwhile, South Korea posted an unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.3% in February, unchanged from January, the National Statistical Office said Wednesday.
The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate, meanwhile, fell to 4.4% in February, from 4.6% in January, thanks to the country's ongoing economic recovery and expanded hiring among local Internet-related companies. Hiring in the agriculture industry also rose ahead of the start of the farming season in the spring.
As a result, the number of jobless people fell to 1.12 million last month from 1.13 million in January, the statistical office said. The South Korean government expects the country's annual average jobless rate to fall to between 4% and 5% this year, from 6.3% in 1999.
After hitting a 17-year high of 8.6% in February 1999, following corporate and financial restructuring efforts that led to widespread layoffs beginning in early 1998, the unadjusted jobless rate began to decline, falling to as low as 4.4% in November. Seasonal factors pushed the unadjusted rate higher in December and January.