Household income climbs 2.4% in Q4

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Household income climbs 2.4% in Q4

Household income in Korea grew for the fifth straight quarter in the October-December period of last year, helped by the continuing economic recovery, a government report showed yesterday.

Nominal monthly household income averaged 3.62 million won ($3,212) in the last quarter, up 2.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. If adjusted for inflation, however, it declined 1.2 percent.

For all of 2010, monthly household income amounted to 3.63 million won, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier. The country’s inflation-adjusted income rose 2.8 percent.

The growth was attributed to a rise in income levels driven by the economic recovery. Wage and salary income rose 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter while business income advanced 2.5 percent over the same period, the report showed.

Along with income growth, expenditures grew as consumer sentiment improved. Soaring food prices also played a role in increasing household spending.

Monthly household spending came to 2.96 million won during the fourth quarter, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. For all of 2010, spending rose 6.7 percent.

Spending on food and non-alcoholic products jumped 7.8 percent to 334,000 won. The increase was due in part to spiking prices of vegetables, on which households spent 49.1 percent more than the previous year, according to the report.

Spending on residence and heating fuel grew 2.8 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, during the last quarter, apparently due to rising utility service bills, including electricity, the report showed. Yonhap

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