S. Korea's real wage falls in January-September on high inflation

South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, fell for the first nine months of this year due to the still high inflation, labor ministry data showed Wednesday.

The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees grew 2.5 percent over the year to 3,961,000 won (3,070 U.S. dollars) during the January-September period, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The real monthly wage shrank 1.2 percent to 3,563,000 won (2,760 dollars) in the nine-month period.

For the first nine months of this year, the consumer price index (CPI) advanced 3.7 percent compared with the same period of last year.

In September alone, the real wage rose 1.9 percent on a yearly basis, marking the first turnaround in seven months.

The real wage had been on the decline since April 2022 except February and September this year.

The monthly average working hours per worker in the businesses retreated 4.1 percent over the year to 148.0 hours in September.

The electricity, gas and air conditioning industry recorded the longest monthly working hours of 166.0, followed by the manufacturing industry with 161.5 hours.

The construction sector logged the shortest working hours of 124.0 in the cited month.