SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real household income adjusted for inflation declined for the first time in seven years in 2016, leading to a fall in private consumption, statistics office data showed on Friday.
Nominal income of households with at least two family members averaged 4,399,000 won (3,888 U.S. dollars) per month in 2016, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
It was down from a 1.6 percent growth in the previous year, marking the lowest since the statistical agency began compiling the data in 2003.
Earned income, which accounts for the largest portion of total household income, rose 1.0 percent in 2016, down from a 1.6 percent increase in 2015.
Household income adjusted for inflation dipped 0.4 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, posting the first reduction since the global financial crisis roiled the South Korean economy in 2009.
Disposable income, which deducts non-living expenditures such as payments for tax, pension and insurance from nominal household income, inched up 0.7 percent last year. It was the lowest gain since 2009.
Amid the weakening income base, consumption expenditure among households shed 0.5 percent over the year to 2.55 million won 2016. It was the first decline since 2003.
Household consumption adjusted for inflation reduced 1.5 percent. Average propensity to consume stood at 71.1 percent in 2016, down 0.9 percentage points from the previous year.
The worsening of both consumption and income stemmed mainly from growing recruitment of irregular workers and companies' reluctance to employ regular ones.
Irregular workers are paid less, and overtime charges are smaller than normal pay, encouraging companies to hire more temporary employees and force regular workers overtime.
