SEOUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, rebounded in February owing to a surge in nominal wages, labor ministry data showed Thursday.
The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees grew 17.8 percent from a year earlier to 4,849,000 won (3,270 U.S. dollars) in February, after slipping 7.6 percent in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The real monthly wage jumped 15.5 percent in February on a yearly basis, turning around from a fall of 9.4 percent in the previous month.
The headline inflation hovered around the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2.0 percent in recent months, with 2.3 percent in December, 2.0 percent in January and 2.0 percent in February.
The monthly average working hours per employee in the businesses dipped 12.8 percent to 132.5 hours in February compared to the same month of last year.
The electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply industry logged the longest monthly working hours of 151.5, followed by the water supply, sewage, waste management and materials recovery sector with 148.4 hours.
The education service industry recorded the shortest working hours of 114.8 in the cited month. ■
