Koreans’ real wages contracted for the first time in 18 months in the first quarter as income gains remained stagnant amid high inflation, data showed Tuesday.

Korean workers’ real wages reached 2.36 million won ($2,222.3) in the January-March period, down 4.08 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by the labor ministry and the state-run statistics agency.

The real wage, the value of earned money after adjusting inflation growth, is measured with the value of nominal wage against the consumer price index.

The first-quarter figure marked the first decline since a 0.47 percent fall tallied in the third quarter of 2009.

In April, real wages fell 2.73 percent from a year earlier, marking the third consecutive month of declines. They shrank 13.44 percent and 2.94 percent on-year in February and March, respectively.

The data came as South Korea is grappling with high-flying inflation, driven by high oil and food prices and sustained economic growth.

Korea’s consumer prices jumped 4.4 percent in June from a year earlier, faster than a 4.1 percent on-year expansion in May.

The country’s inflation surpassed the upper limit of the central bank’s 2-4 percent inflation target band for the six straight months in June.

The South Korean economy remained on the recovery track, aided by exports, but high inflation is making it difficult for people to feel the impact of economic growth.

Korea’s gross national income, a gauge of the population’s actual purchasing power, declined 0.1 percent on-quarter in the January-March period, the first contraction in two years. 

(Yonhap News)