SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, rose for the fourth consecutive month in January due to the relatively low headline inflation, labor ministry data showed Thursday.
The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees grew 15.8 percent over the year to 4,967,000 won (3,390 U.S. dollars) in January, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The real monthly wage jumped 13.3 percent in January on a yearly basis, after going up 2.1 percent in October, 0.8 percent in November and 2.0 percent in December last year.
Consumer price inflation sped up 1.3 percent in October, 1.5 percent in November, 1.9 percent in December last year and 2.2 percent in January, but it remained low compared to 2.8 percent in January last year.
The monthly average working hours per employee in businesses dropped 14.8 percent to 140.6 hours in January compared to the same month of last year. ■
