SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household income growth hit a record high in the second quarter due to the eased measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's offer of relief grants for small businesses, statistical office data showed Thursday.
The monthly average income per household with one or more family members stood at 4,831,000 won (3,660 U.S. dollars) in the April-June quarter, up 12.7 percent from the same quarter of last year, according to Statistics Korea.
It marked the fastest quarterly increase since relevant data began to be compiled in 2006. Real household income, adjusted for inflation, gained 6.9 percent in the quarter.
Earned income on a monthly average basis expanded 5.3 percent over the year to 2,887,000 won in the second quarter, and business income advanced 14.9 percent to 927,000 won.
The government has lifted all anti-virus measures since April, except an indoor mask mandate, helping raise revenue especially among services companies.
The continued job growth also contributed to the higher earned income.
Transfer income surged 44.9 percent to 893,000 won in the cited quarter as the government gave relief grants to small merchants and the self-employed to make up for their losses, caused by the anti-virus measures.
Public transfer income spiked 61.5 percent thanks to the relief grants, while private transfer income grew 9.2 percent in the second quarter.
The monthly average expenditure per household increased 6.0 percent from a year earlier to 3,508,000 won in the April-June quarter.
Consumption expenditure picked up 5.8 percent to 2,619,000 won in the second quarter, marking the highest second-quarter expansion in 12 years since 2010.
Real consumption expenditure edged up 0.4 percent in the quarter on the back of high inflation.
Household spending on clothing and footwear rose 12.5 percent in the second quarter, with educational expenditure growing 11.1 percent.
Spending on transport cost advanced 11.8 percent, and those on the leisure and culture and the eatery and lodging services went up in double digits.
Non-consumption expenditure, which includes the payment of tax, social insurance premium and donation, climbed 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 888,000 won in the second quarter.
The monthly average disposable income, or income minus non-consumption expenditure, per household amounted to 3,943,000 won in the second quarter, up 14.2 percent from a year earlier.
The propensity to consume among households, which measures the ratio of consumption expenditure to disposable income, retreated 5.2 percentage points to 66.4 percent in the second quarter.
Income disparity among households narrowed slightly in the second quarter.
The monthly average income of households in the bottom 20-percent income bracket soared 16.5 percent over the year to 1,126,000 won in the second quarter.
Disposable income for the bottom bracket jumped 15.7 percent to 940,000 won, but consumption propensity dropped 12.0 percentage points to 130.0 percent.
On a monthly average basis, income for households in the top 20-percent income group increased 11.7 percent to 10,323,000 won in the cited quarter.
Disposable income for the top bracket expanded 15.3 percent to 8,330,000 won, but consumption tendency slumped 8.7 percentage points to 52.7 percent. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1,323.58 won) ■