South Korea's Employment and Fiscal Indicators All Decline... National Competitiveness Ranked 23rd Among 63 Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Due to Korea's proactive fiscal policy, the rankings for fiscal balance and government debt growth rate declined compared to last year. However, Korea rose five places from last year, ranking 23rd among 63 countries in national competitiveness.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 16th, the results of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking showed that Korea ranked 23rd out of 63 countries in the overall ranking. By sector, the economic performance category remained steady at 27th place.

The government efficiency category improved from 31st to 28th place. The business efficiency category also rose from 34th to 28th place. The infrastructure category showed an upward trend in all areas except scientific infrastructure, rising four places from 20th last year to 16th.

However, the employment category slightly declined from 10th to 12th place. Although the employment growth rate improved from 55th to 33rd, the unemployment rate (18th to 20th) and the proportion of public sector employment (9th to 12th) declined significantly.

In particular, the fiscal and taxation category saw a sharp drop in fiscal balance ranking from 3rd to 13th due to the government's active fiscal policy last year, and the government debt growth rate ranking also fell 14 places from 40th to 54th.

The country ranked first overall was Singapore, which held the top spot last year. Denmark followed in second place, and Switzerland ranked third. The United States dropped seven places from last year, ranking 10th.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, "It appears that the effects of K-quarantine and efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis were positively reflected. However, the indicators for employment and fiscal categories, which relatively declined in ranking, are results of responding to last year's global economic downturn and semiconductor market slump."