S. Korea's real wage turns downward in July

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, turned downward in five months in July, labor ministry data showed Tuesday.

The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees shrank 1.0 percent from a year earlier to 4,213,000 won (3,000 U.S. dollars) in July, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The real monthly wage reduced 3.1 percent in July on a yearly basis after going up for the past four months.

The consumer price inflation hovered around the central bank's inflation target of 2 percent in recent months, with 2.1 percent in April, 1.9 percent in May, 2.2 percent in June and 2.1 percent in July.

The monthly average working hours per employee in the businesses fell 0.1 percent to 168.9 hours in July compared to the same month of last year.

The water, sewage and waste disposal industry recorded the longest monthly working hours of 184.3, trailed by the manufacturing industry with 182.6 hours.

The construction industry logged the shortest working hours of 138.9 in the cited month. Enditem