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204376
Tue, 08/30/2011 - 14:11
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https://oananews.org//node/204376
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Real wages fall nearly 4 percent due to consumer price hikes
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- Local salaried workers' nominal wages edged up slightly over the past year but their real wages decreased due to steep hikes in consumer prices, the labor ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry's poll of 28,000 workplaces nationwide found that their employees earned on average 2.79 million won (US$2,601) a month as of June, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier.
Given that the country's benchmark consumer price index jumped 4.4 percent during the cited period, however, their average per-capita salary marks a drop of 3.9 percent in real term, the ministry said.
Real wages, referring to wages adjusted for inflation, provide a clearer representation of an individual's wages compared with nominal wages.
Adjusted for inflation, one South Korean worker's monthly wages reached only 2.31 million won in June, the ministry added.
Regular workers took a heavier blow from the wage cut in real term with their inflation-adjusted salaries diving 6 percent on-year to 2.47 million won, according to the labor ministry.
"Due to sharp gains in inflation, workers' real wages took a dive," Lee Jae-hung, a ministry official, said.
Meanwhile, the average monthly cost to maintain one worker gathered ground last year from the previous year, the labor ministry said in a separate statement.
One company spent an average of 4.02 million won in 2010 to maintain the employment of one worker, 4 percent more than what they spent in 2009, the ministry said.
The findings are based on the ministry's survey of 3,273 workplaces with 10 or more employees.
The monthly cost consists of all kinds of cash payments to employees and retirement and welfare benefits as well as training costs.
The financial and insurance sector spent the highest, with an average cost of 7.14 million won per employee, while facility maintenance firms allocated the smallest amount, 2.02 million won every month, according to the labor ministry.
The official said companies' direct labor costs like wages gained ground while their spending on indirect costs like welfare spending remain almost unchanged, according to the ministry. "As welfare services of mid-sized companies lag far behind those of conglomerates, a measure is needed in order to narrow the gap," Lee said.
The ministry also added the country's job market remained stable with the total number of employees advancing to 13.79 million as of July, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.
The ministry's poll of 28,000 workplaces nationwide found that their employees earned on average 2.79 million won (US$2,601) a month as of June, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier.
Given that the country's benchmark consumer price index jumped 4.4 percent during the cited period, however, their average per-capita salary marks a drop of 3.9 percent in real term, the ministry said.
Real wages, referring to wages adjusted for inflation, provide a clearer representation of an individual's wages compared with nominal wages.
Adjusted for inflation, one South Korean worker's monthly wages reached only 2.31 million won in June, the ministry added.
Regular workers took a heavier blow from the wage cut in real term with their inflation-adjusted salaries diving 6 percent on-year to 2.47 million won, according to the labor ministry.
"Due to sharp gains in inflation, workers' real wages took a dive," Lee Jae-hung, a ministry official, said.
Meanwhile, the average monthly cost to maintain one worker gathered ground last year from the previous year, the labor ministry said in a separate statement.
One company spent an average of 4.02 million won in 2010 to maintain the employment of one worker, 4 percent more than what they spent in 2009, the ministry said.
The findings are based on the ministry's survey of 3,273 workplaces with 10 or more employees.
The monthly cost consists of all kinds of cash payments to employees and retirement and welfare benefits as well as training costs.
The financial and insurance sector spent the highest, with an average cost of 7.14 million won per employee, while facility maintenance firms allocated the smallest amount, 2.02 million won every month, according to the labor ministry.
The official said companies' direct labor costs like wages gained ground while their spending on indirect costs like welfare spending remain almost unchanged, according to the ministry. "As welfare services of mid-sized companies lag far behind those of conglomerates, a measure is needed in order to narrow the gap," Lee said.
The ministry also added the country's job market remained stable with the total number of employees advancing to 13.79 million as of July, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.
