Workers' Wages Decreased for the First Time in 5 Years... Working Hours Increased

'June 2020 Survey on Employment Status by Employment Type' Results Announcement
Wage Gap Between Regular and Non-Regular Workers Slightly Decreased
Non-Regular Workers' Wages at 300+ Employee Firms Only 44.5% of Regular Workers'
Wage Gap by Education Level Persists...Middle School Graduates' Wages 60.3% of College Graduates' Among Regular Workers

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Last year, the total hourly wage of wage workers decreased by 6.1% compared to the previous year, while working hours increased by 11.2 hours.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor disclosed the wage status by business characteristics as of June last year on the 25th. It analyzed wage status according to company size, industry, education level, and career. The survey covered about 960,000 workers from 33,000 businesses. Agriculture, forestry, fishery, and public administration sectors were excluded. Wages were calculated by adding fixed salary, overtime pay, and the previous year's special pay divided by 12 months.

The total hourly wage of all workers in businesses with one or more wage workers was 19,316 KRW, down 6.1% from 20,573 KRW in June 2019. The total hourly wage had shown an increasing trend for four consecutive years since 2016 but turned to a decrease last year. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official explained, "The reason for the decrease in total hourly wage is that the number of working days in the calendar increased by three days compared to the same month the previous year, resulting in a significant increase in working hours."

On the other hand, the average working hours per person were 163.6 hours, an increase of 11.2 hours from 152.4 hours in the same month the previous year. The official said, "Despite the impact of COVID-19, working hours increased because the number of working days increased by 1.6 days compared to the previous year."

The total hourly wage of regular workers was 20,731 KRW, down 6.6% from the previous year, and that of non-regular workers was 15,015 KRW, down 3.0%. Among non-regular workers, dispatched workers (13,486 KRW) decreased by 5.8%, part-time workers (13,594 KRW) by 5.7%, and fixed-term workers (14,719 KRW) by 5.0% in wages.

The wage gap between regular and non-regular workers improved. The wage of non-regular workers was 72.4% of that of regular workers, narrowing by 2.7 percentage points from 69.7% in 2019. However, in businesses with 300 or more employees, the wage of non-regular workers was only 44.5% of that of regular workers.

The wage gap by education level remained. The hourly wage of regular workers with a university degree was 23,832 KRW, while those with middle school education or less earned 60.3% (14,371 KRW) of university graduates, high school graduates earned 69.4% (16,540 KRW), and junior college graduates earned 76.7% (18,284 KRW). Among non-regular workers, university graduates earned 15,924 KRW, middle school or less 80.1% (12,761 KRW), high school graduates 89.8% (14,292 KRW), and junior college graduates 84% (13,370 KRW), showing less wage disparity by education level than regular workers.

Meanwhile, regarding social insurance enrollment rates for workers, employment insurance was 90.3%, health insurance 91.1%, national pension 91.3%, and industrial accident insurance 97.8%. However, non-regular workers' enrollment rates were significantly below average: employment insurance 74.4%, health insurance 64.9%, national pension 61.7%, and industrial accident insurance 97.5%.

The union membership rate of all workers was 10% (up 0.1 percentage points from the previous year), retirement pension enrollment rate was 50.2% (up 1.2 percentage points), and bonus payment rate was 51.6% (down 0.7 percentage points).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.