South Korea's finance ministry said Friday that economic recovery trend emerged in the fourth quarter of last year.

The ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called Green Book, that the trend of economic recovery emerged recently given the increases in production, consumption and facility investment during the fourth quarter and the rebound of both leading and coincident economic indicators in December.

It was the first time since September 2018 that the finance ministry saw the economy recovering.

The ministry noted that expectations were raised for global economic recovery, vowing to make all-out efforts to secure the recovery momentum.

Revenue of department stores inched down 0.3 percent in January from a year earlier, but sales of discount outlets and online retailers expanded 7.3 percent and 3.3 percent respectively.

The domestic sale of passenger cars, made by local carmakers, dived 15.7 percent last month, but it was attributed to fewer business days that came from the Lunar New Year holiday.

Production in all industries expanded 1.4 percent in December from a month earlier, and facility investment climbed 10.9 percent.

Retail sale, which reflects private consumption, added 0.3 percent in December on a monthly basis, and investment in the construction sector grew 4.1 percent.

Export dipped 6.1 percent in January from a year earlier on fewer working days, but the daily average export rose last month.

The number of those employed jumped 568,000 in January from a year earlier, marking the fastest increase in 65 months.