SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's domestic demand is expected to be weakened due to the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, a government report said Friday.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly economic report, called Green Book, that the South Korean economy maintained a solid export and a rapid growth in employment.
The ministry, however, expressed worry about domestic demand amid the Omicron variant spread.
In the latest tally, the country reported a record daily high of 109,831 COVID-19 cases for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 1,755,806.
The government decided to ease its social-distancing guideline for the next three weeks as the tightened quarantine measures for the past nine weeks roiled the businesses of small merchants.
The country's export advanced 15.2 percent in January from a year earlier, and the number of jobs soared 1,135,000 last month.
Revenue among department stores and discount outlets gained in double figures last month, but the sale of locally-made passenger cars tumbled 19.7 percent in January.
Production in the mining and manufacturing industry grew 4.3 percent in December from the previous month, but output in the services industry declined 0.4 percent in the month. ■