SEOUL, KOREA - According to key household income and expenditure trends statistics announced by the National Statistical Office on November 22, the third-quarter per-household monthly income was 4.26 million won, up 2.9 percent from the same quarter in 2012.

 

This is the highest figure since the fourth quarter last year (5.4%). Since then, the year-on-year growth rate has been 1.7 and 2.5 percent in the first and second quarter this year, respectively.

 

In terms of real figure, the income growth rate was 1.6 percent in the third quarter, following 0.3 percent in the first quarter and 1.3 percent in the second.

 

As for the spending side, the third-quarter monthly expenditure was 2.49 million won, up 1.1 percent from a year ago. This is the highest figure since the fourth quarter in 2012 (1.4%). Among major spending items, rental and utilities rose most with 6.4 percent largely because more households switched to monthly rental arrangements from one-time "jeonse" payments.

 

As for spending for foods and beverages (excluding alcoholic drinks), it fell 2.5 percent year on year. The monthly spending on education rose 0.7 percent to 332,000 won from a year ago.