SEOUL, July 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, rose for the third straight month in May, labor ministry data showed Wednesday.
The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees gained 2.5 percent over the year to 3,916,000 won (2,830 U.S. dollars) in May after growing 2.7 percent in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The real monthly wage mounted 0.5 percent in May on a yearly basis after expanding 1.1 percent in March and 0.6 percent in April.
The consumer price inflation hovered around the central bank's inflation target of 2 percent in recent months, with 2.2 percent in January, 2.0 percent in February, 2.1 percent in March, 2.1 percent in April and 1.9 percent in May.
The monthly average working hours per employee in the businesses decreased 4.1 percent to 147.0 hours in May compared to the same month of last year.
The water, sewage and waste disposal industry recorded the longest monthly working hours of 162.5, trailed by the manufacturing industry with 161.6 hours.
The construction industry logged the shortest working hours of 123.7 in the cited month. ■
