"Check Game Situation Immediately"... Statistics Korea Promotes Development of Flash Economic Indicators

Check This Month's Economic Situation Early Next Month

On the 27th, cargo containers are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port as seen from the air. [Aerial photography cooperation = Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Aviation Unit, Pilots: Inspector Shin Seung-ho - Inspector Park Ji-hwan, Crew: Inspector Park Sang-jin] Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The government is promoting the development of a rapid economic indicator that can quickly capture economic conditions in order to minimize risks arising from economic uncertainties.

On the 15th, Statistics Korea announced that it will complete the "Research on the Development of a Rapid Indicator for Monthly Economic Condition Assessment" and the "Study on Comprehensive Measurement of Private Consumption Including Service Consumption" within this year.

A rapid indicator is a composite index that estimates the coincident composite index of industrial activity trends, which is currently provided at the end of each month, at the beginning of each month to grasp the overall economic situation more quickly. The rapid indicator will be developed by integrating sectoral indicators such as production, consumption, investment, and employment, created by applying econometric models and machine learning models to big data and administrative data.

By utilizing the rapid indicator, economic agents can check the economic situation of the current month at the beginning of the following month. Additionally, by applying statistical techniques to the rapid indicator to produce seasonally adjusted indices or cyclical components, more detailed analyses such as short-term trend identification and economic phase confirmation are also possible.

The comprehensive consumption indicator refers to a private consumption indicator that expands the scope to include not only consumption of goods but also service consumption. Along with the expansion of the economy, the share of the service industry is gradually increasing, exceeding half of total consumption, and especially due to the expansion of medical and health service expenditures related to aging, the scale of service consumption is expected to further increase in the future.

Lee Hyung-il, Commissioner of Statistics Korea, stated, "Once the rapid indicator and comprehensive consumption indicator are developed, statistics on economic conditions can be provided more promptly, which will support government policy formulation and decision-making by private economic agents."