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3분기 코로나19 고용충격에 가계 근로소득 최대폭↓…빈부격차 심화With the pandemic putting so many people out of work, especially in the service sector, South Korean households saw their wage income dip 1-point-1 percent in the July to September period this year compared to the year before.Not only that, stats show... wage gap widened between the haves and have nots in this country.Kim Jae-hee has this report.South Korea's household employment income fell in the third quarter from a year earlier, with the COVID-19 outbreak hammering the job market.According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the monthly average household employment income in the July to September period this year was down by 1-point-1 percent compared to a year earlier.Although this is smaller than the 5-point-3 percent on-year fall seen in the second quarter, it marked the steepest on-year fall for the third quarter since records began in 2003.The average household business income also slipped by one percent on-year.However, the overall monthly average household income rose in the third quarter, to over 5-point-3 million Korean won, or about 4-thousand-800 U.S dollars up 1-point-6 percent from the same period last year.This was due to a 17-point-1 percent increase in what's called 'transfer income', which refers to cash, goods or services received from the government or other organizations."Transfer income rose 17-point-1 percent in the third quarter compared to last year, thanks to public pensions, basic pension increases, unemployment benefits and child allowance, as well as emergency aid given to the public, and incentives to create jobs amid the pandemic."There was also greater income inequality than last year, with those in low-income brackets seeing their income drop.Households in the lowest 20 percent income bracket saw their average monthly income in the third quarter fall by 1-point-1 percent from the same period last year, and the second lowest bracket saw a 1-point-3 percent drop.Only those in the top 60 percent saw their income go up, with top 20 percent seeing the largest rise.Total household spending also decreased on-year amid the virus pandemic.Spending on food items, non-alcoholic beverages and household goods increased, but spending on transport, entertainment and education dropped, as people preferred to stay home amid the outbreak.Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.