Inflation, joblessness exacerbate Koreans' economic distress

• Published date: 23 February 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Economic misery index hit all-time high for January last month

By Yi Whan-woo

The degree of economic distress felt by Koreans has exacerbated quickly, as a toxic mixture of high inflation and unemployment deals a blow to their daily lives, data showed Wednesday.

Released by Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the economic misery index ? a measurement of the financial well-being of a country's citizens calculated by adding the seasonally adjusted inflation rate to the unemployment rate ? stood at 8.8 percent in January.

The index, compiled by Statistics Korea, marked the highest level for the month of January since June 1999 when the statistics agency adopted a new way to collect relevant data.

Developed by U.S. economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s, the index assesses the impact of a high cost of living and a high jobless rate on the economic well-being of people.

Last month's data came as inflation rose to a three-month high of 5.2 percent in January, after growing at 5 percent in November and December, respectively.

The unemployment rate was at 3.6 percent last month, as jobs grew at the slowest pace in 22 months and the number of unemployed people surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time since January of 2022.

"In January, there are usually more people without jobs than the rest of the year, but even so, the 2023 index is seen as serious in nature because inflation appears to be on an upward course and thus can dent the...