SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household income grew for the seventh consecutive quarter thanks to an expansion in earned and business incomes, statistical office data showed Thursday.
On a nominal basis, the monthly average income per household with one or more family members rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier to 5,351,000 won (3,870 U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, continuing to increase since the third quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Korea.
The nominal earned income mounted 3.7 percent to 3,412,000 won in the first quarter, faster than a growth of 2.3 percent in the previous quarter. Business income gained 3.0 percent to 902,000 won in the first quarter after expanding 5.5 percent in the prior quarter.
Property income swelled 6.2 percent, while transfer income climbed 7.5 percent in the cited quarter. The real household income, adjusted for inflation, advanced 2.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.
The monthly average expenditure per household increased 2.2 percent over the year to 4,072,000 won in the first quarter.
Consumption expenditure added 1.4 percent to 2,950,000 won in the first quarter after growing 2.5 percent in the previous quarter. The inflation-adjusted real consumption expenditure diminished 0.7 percent, marking the first fall in seven quarters since the second quarter of 2023.
On a nominal basis, expenditure on housing, water, light, heat, lodging, eating-out, health, food and beverage rose in the cited quarter, but expenses on liquor, tobacco, clothing, footwear and transport retreated in single digits.
Non-consumption expenditure, which includes the payment of tax, social insurance premium and interest cost, went up 4.4 percent from a year earlier to 1,123,000 won in the first quarter.
Interest cost decreased 6.9 percent, but the payment of recurring taxes mounted 14.0 percent in the January-March quarter.
The monthly average disposable income per household, or nominal income minus non-consumption expenditure, gained 4.5 percent from a year earlier to 4,228,000 won in the first quarter.
The average consumption propensity among households, which measures the ratio of consumption expenditure to disposable income, was down 2.1 percentage points to 69.8 percent.
Income disparity among households widened in the cited quarter.
The monthly average income for households in the bottom 20 percent income bracket fell 1.5 percent to 1,140,000 won, while income for households in the top 20 percent income group grew 5.6 percent to 11,884,000 won.
The monthly average consumption expenditure in the bottom bracket increased 3.6 percent to 1,358,000 won, while the expenditure in the top group climbed 2.1 percent to 5,204,000 won. (1 won equals 0.00073 USD) ■
