12 hours ago
If you earn over W4m a month, you're above average in Korea
The average South Korean worker earned 3.97 million won ($2,900) before taxes and worked 165.6 hours in April, according to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Nominal wages rose 2.7 percent compared to the same month last year. Real wages, which reflect purchasing power after adjusting for inflation, increased 0.6 percent to 3.41 million won.
By industry, the highest average earnings were in finance and insurance, where workers made an average of 7.44 million won, a 6.1 percent increase from a year earlier.
This was followed by the energy sector, with an average wage of 5.89 million won.
At the bottom was the accommodation and food services sector, where workers earned just 2.18 million won on average.
Working hours also increased.
The average of 165.6 hours that employees worked in April was 6.1 hours more than the same month last year.
But the ministry attributed the uptick to the calendar. April 2024 had one more working day than the previous year, due to the Election Day for the 22nd National Assembly falling in April 2023.
Also, as of May, 20.29 million people were employed at businesses with at least one employee, roughly the same as a year earlier.
However, hiring activity slowed. A total of 826,000 new hires were recorded, down 61,000 from a year ago. The construction sector saw the sharpest drop, with 46,000 fewer hires.
