By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

A range of indices reflecting people's livelihoods continues to paint a bleak picture even if the economy has recently shown signs of recovery on rising domestic consumption and corporate capital spending.

According to the Supreme Court on Sunday, the number of bankruptcies filed by individuals reached 45,057 in the first quarter of the year, up 2.5 times from 17,679 over the same period last year. If the pace continues, the number of personal bankruptcies will record an all-time high this year, surpassing last year's total of 123,691.

Analysts say personal bankruptcies filed with the court have been increasing as more individuals apply for various debt workout programs operated by government agencies and financial service companies to reschedule their repayments.

But they also say slow income growth and lackluster job creation amid worsening business conditions have aggravated household finances, pushing the number of individual bankruptcies higher.

``The rise in bankruptcy filings basically reflects stagnant income and job growth,'' said Song Tae-jung, senior economist at the LG Economic Research Institute.

He said even though a series of recent economic indices, including manufacturing output and consumer sentiment, indicate the economy is gaining growth momentum, people, particularly those in the low-income bracket, are still grappling with financial hardship. ``It will take at least several more months for households to benefit from improving economic conditions.''

Major private research institutes have raised their economic outlook for the second half of the year on signs of recovery in domestic consumption and corporate capital spending.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said it expects domestic consumption to increase 4.2 percent this year, up from an earlier prediction of 3.9 percent, adding that corporate investment will jump 5.7 percent, up from the previous 4.8 percent forecast.

The Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) also raised its 2007 economic growth projection to 4.5 percent from 4.3 percent made late last year, while the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) raised its growth forecast to 4.4 percent from an earlier 4.1 percent, citing improving consumer sentiment.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the index measuring consumer confidence in economic and living conditions for the next six months increased to 100.1 last month, marking the first rise above the benchmark since April 2006 when the index stood at 100.6.

``During an economic rebound, those in the high-income bracket tend to gain first, while poor households usually benefit last. But consumers' perceived economic benefits are not going to last long because their purchasing power will likely stagnate because of sluggish income and job gains amid rising consumer prices,'' Song said.

The number of new jobs created from January to April this year fell short of the government's target of between 350,000 and 400,000. Last month, the country generated about 278,000 new jobs, following 273,000 in March and 262,000 in February.

In particularly, the number of jobs in the retail, restaurant and lodging sectors, which usually employ workers from the low-income bracket, fell 66,000 in April from a year ago, after a 32,000 drop in March.

At the same time, consumer prices increased at a faster pace this year with prices rising 2.5 percent in April from a year earlier, up from a 2.2 percent year-on-year gain in March and February.

Particularly, prices for living necessities, including food and clothes, rose 2.9 percent, the highest increase since last September, amid rising prices of international oil and other raw materials.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr