S. Korea's real wage turns downward in 5 months in February

South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, turned downward in five months in February, labor ministry data showed Tuesday.

The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees shrank 5.4 percent over the year to 4,117,000 won (2,870 US dollars) in February, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The real monthly wage declined 7.3 percent in February on a yearly basis, marking the first downturn in five months.

The consumer price inflation soared from 1.3 percent in October last year to 2.2 percent in January this year, before slowing to 2.0 percent in February.

The monthly average working hours per employee in the businesses mounted 4.4 percent to 152.0 hours in February compared to the same month of last year.

The manufacturing industry recorded the longest monthly working hours of 166.1, trailed by the water, sewage and waste disposal industry with 164.0 hours.

The education service industry logged the shortest working hours of 128.7 in the cited month.