The income disparity between the rich and the poor in Korea widened last year as the proportion of the middle class shrank, data showed Friday.

According to the report by Statistics Korea, Gini’s coefficient, the indicator showing the income gap between the wealthy and the poor, stood at 0.311 in 2011, up from 0.310 a year earlier, suggesting the equality level for income distribution worsened.

Another indicator ― the market income ratio that compares the upper 20 percent and the lower 20 percent ― hit a five-year high of 7.86 times. The data is interpreted as a sign that the income level gap became greater between the two groups.

The proportion of the middle class in terms of annual income also shrank to 64.0 percent last year, down from 64.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Korean households’ monthly income grew 5.8 percent in 2011 from a year earlier. The monthly income of households with more than two family members averaged 3.84 million won ($3,416) last year, compared with 3.63 million won in the previous year. Their inflation-adjusted income also rose 1.7 percent.

The increase was attributable to better employment and economic conditions, which led people to gain a higher income.

Last year, the country’s jobless rate stood at 3.4 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier. The economy also added 415,000 more jobs last year compared to the previous year, a jump from 323,000 jobs gained on-year in 2010.

Households’ earned income rose 6.3 percent on-year in 2011 to 2.49 million won, while their business income grew 4.5 percent to 841,000 won.

The disposable monthly income of households came to an average of 3.12 million won, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, the report showed.

Households’ spending also grew over the same period. A higher income surely helped boost spending, but inflation seems to have played a part as well.

The report showed that monthly consumption expenditures of households averaged 2.39 million won last year, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier. When adjusted for inflation, it inched up 0.6 percent.

Spending on transportation spiked 8.7 percent, with expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages rising 7.1 percent, according to the report.

Monthly non-consumption expenditures, which include payments on taxes, pensions and insurance, also expanded 7.2 percent on-year to 722,000 won, the report showed.

By Yang Sung-jin and news reports
(insight@heraldcorp.com)