An analysis came out that the wage polarization by industry has deepened as the industries that have benefited from and have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis have been sharply divided.



It was found that employees of Internet companies such as Naver and Kakao increased their monthly wages by more than 1 million won, while those of travel companies and airlines decreased by more than 1 million won.



The Korea Economic Research Institute, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Entrepreneurs, released today (31st) the results of comparing and analyzing the average wage per employee in the first half of 2019 and the first half of this year after dividing 1,340 companies with 100 or more employees by industry.




The industries that saw the largest increase in wages for six months after the spread of COVID-19 were data processing and hosting, portals and other Internet information-mediated services.



Workers working in this industry received an average of 28.83 million won in the first half of 2019, but they received 37.94 million won in the first half of this year, two years later.



Next, wages increased in the order of product brokerage, television broadcasting, natural science and engineering R&D, and manufacturing of medical supplies and medical products.




On the other hand, employees of travel agencies and other travel assistance services received an average of KRW 28,000 in the first half of 2019, but only half of KRW 12.34 million in the first half of this year, two years later.



In the air passenger transportation industry, wages for six months decreased by KRW 7.63 million over the past two years, and the six-month wage for automobile engines and automobile manufacturing companies, including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Ssangyong Motors, decreased by 1.62 million won during the same period.



The Korea Economic Research Institute suggested that the polarization of wages by industry is intensifying due to the impact of COVID-19 and that support such as employment maintenance subsidies should be continued until companies that have been hit can recover.



(Photo = provided by Han Kyung-yeon, Yonhap News)