S. Korea's real wage turns downward in April

　　SEOUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's real wage, adjusted for inflation, turned downward in April owing to faster inflation, labor ministry data showed Tuesday.

　　The per-capita nominal monthly average wage in businesses with one or more regular employees gained 1.5 percent over the year to 4,031,000 won (2,605 U.S. dollars) in April, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

　　However, the real monthly wage shrank 1.0 percent in April on a yearly basis, shifting downward from a growth of 0.1 percent in the previous month.

　　The consumer price inflation advanced from 2.2 percent in March to 2.6 percent in April, hovering above the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2.0 percent.

　　The monthly average working hours per employee in the businesses retreated 1.0 percent to 163.8 hours in April compared to the same month of last year.

　　The water supply, sewage, waste management and materials recovery industry logged the longest monthly working hours of 181.9, followed by the manufacturing sector with 181.3 hours.

　　The construction industry recorded the shortest working hours of 134.8 in the cited month. ■