Widening Wage Gap Due to Semiconductor Performance Bonuses
Wage increases for regular employees are concentrated in the semiconductor sector and large companies. Take a quick look at wage trends and their causes, including the gap with small and medium-sized companies.
In the first half of this year, the average monthly wage of regular employees rose 3.1% from a year earlier, but the gains were found to have been concentrated in semiconductorrelated industries and large companies.
According to an analysis released on the 20th by the Korea Employers Federation, total wages in the electronics and telecommunications industry increased 23.1% year on year, while special bonuses surged 66.0%. Although this industry accounts for only 2.5% of all regular employees, it had a major impact, accounting for 32.4% of the total wage increase.
By contrast, the rate of increase in total wages in other industries was just 2.2%, and the wage increase rate for small and mediumsized enterprises with fewer than 300 employees was also low at 2.1%. The KEF explained that productivity improvements and greater capacity for companies to pay wages are necessary.