Unemployment Data Eyed To Gauge Recovery

South Korea's unemployment rate due at 0000BST/0700HKT, median consensus looks for 3.9% in April, in line with the March reading after a 1.4ppts drop in February.

• Goldman Sachs are slightly more optimistic than the median: "We expect Korea's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to inch down to 3.8% in April (Bloomberg consensus: 3.8%), from 3.9% in the previous month. The forecast implies continued gains in employment although at a moderated pace from the previous two months, and a further marginal increase in the labor force participation rate. Although job growth on a year-on-year basis could look strong due to a low base in 2020, employment levels will likely stay meaningfully low compared with pre-pandemic levels, with our April forecast for total number of jobs still 330K lower (or 1.2% less) than those in February 2020."