By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter




Wages earned by urban households rose at the slowest pace in the second quarter of the year since 1999, affected by the prolonged business downturn, the National Statistical Office (NSO) reported on Tuesday.

The salaried income of urban households grew 3.5 percent to 2.72 million won ($2,660) on average during the April-June period from a year earlier. It marks the lowest second-quarterly growth rate since 1.6 percent recorded in the second quarter of 1999, when the country was still in the currency crisis.

In comparison, urban households’ wages stood at 2.62 million won in the second quarter of 2004, up 6.5 percent from the previous year.

The average monthly total income of households of salaried workers recorded 3.11 million won in the second quarter, up 4.7 percent from the same period last year, lower than the 5.2 percent growth in the first quarter of this year, according to the NSO.

Meanwhile, salaried workers in urban areas showed the widest gap between the upper- and lower-income brackets in the second quarter since 2000.

Urban households with income in the top 20 percent earned 5.13 times more than those in the bottom 20 percent during the April-June period, the NSO said.

The income disparity ratio is the highest for the second quarter since 5.28 recorded in the second quarter of 2000.

The monthly income of the bottom 20 percent of urban households rose 1.7 percent to 1.15 million won in the second quarter compared to over a year ago, while the income of the top 20 percent expanded by 5.6 percent to 5.89 million won.

``The income gap seems to be widening further, reflecting recent rises in contract workers and tight job market conditions,’’ the NSO said.

It added that the high-income bracket increased their wealth through other means, including investment in stocks and real estate.

Average monthly spending by urban households grew 2.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to 1.99 million, and disposable income gained 4 percent to 2.7 million.

Domestic consumption continued to stagnate further as inflation reduced the real income of urban households.

The inflation-adjusted monthly income of urban households increased by only 1.6 percent to 2.64 million won in the second quarter, while real monthly urban household expenditure dropped 0.1 percent to 1.7 million won.

Social security spending, including tax and pension fees, jumped by 9.6 percent to 410,000 won, while monthly education expenses grew by 1 percent to 188,000 won.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr