Korean households refrain from spending as income growth slows
- 8 years ago
Korean households remain reluctant to spend... as income gains slow... and people's post-retirement years get longer.
The index gauging how much people spend in relation to their earnings continues to hit a low.
Hwang Ji-hye looks into the numbers provided by the KDI.
82 years and another six months.
That's the average expected lifespan of Koreans.
And as income growth remains sluggish, while life after retirement gets longer,... Korean households are leaning towards saving instead of spending.
"Spending conditions will improve on the back of low interest rates and oil prices, but structural issues like an increased life expectancy will limit the rise, resulting in private consumption posting growth in the low-two percent range this year... that's lower than the economy's overall growth rate."
It's no surprise then that Korean households' average propensity to consume in the first quarter hit a record-low for that period... since related data was first run in 2003.
Statistics Korea says... the index maintained an overall downward trend,... coming in at 72-point-1 percent in the first three months of this year,... down zero-point-3 percentage points from a year earlier.
This means... people spent around 72 U.S. dollars out of a disposable income set at one-hundred.
All this... when the average monthly income of households in the first quarter stood at roughly 38-hundred dollars,... actually marking a drop of zero-point-2 percent from the previous year,... when adjusted for inflation.
"And with the current corporate restructuring drive coupled with the ongoing household debt problem,... experts say a further dent in spending is a likely scenario down the road.
Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News."
The index gauging how much people spend in relation to their earnings continues to hit a low.
Hwang Ji-hye looks into the numbers provided by the KDI.
82 years and another six months.
That's the average expected lifespan of Koreans.
And as income growth remains sluggish, while life after retirement gets longer,... Korean households are leaning towards saving instead of spending.
"Spending conditions will improve on the back of low interest rates and oil prices, but structural issues like an increased life expectancy will limit the rise, resulting in private consumption posting growth in the low-two percent range this year... that's lower than the economy's overall growth rate."
It's no surprise then that Korean households' average propensity to consume in the first quarter hit a record-low for that period... since related data was first run in 2003.
Statistics Korea says... the index maintained an overall downward trend,... coming in at 72-point-1 percent in the first three months of this year,... down zero-point-3 percentage points from a year earlier.
This means... people spent around 72 U.S. dollars out of a disposable income set at one-hundred.
All this... when the average monthly income of households in the first quarter stood at roughly 38-hundred dollars,... actually marking a drop of zero-point-2 percent from the previous year,... when adjusted for inflation.
"And with the current corporate restructuring drive coupled with the ongoing household debt problem,... experts say a further dent in spending is a likely scenario down the road.
Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News."