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Dual income households make 1.4 times more than families with sole bread earner

Dual income households in South Korea brought home 1.4 times more than families with a sole bread earner, a report by a local think tank said Sunday.

According to Hyundai Research Institute, households that had both husband and wife holding jobs brought home an average 5.32 million won ($4,600) per month in 2014. For families where only one person earned an income, the monthly average stood at 3.8 million won.

The private think tank said data showed double income households spent some 2.94 million a month, or 1.2 times more compared with their single income counterparts who spent 2.39 million won every month last year.

HRI said that its findings showed double income earners spent more on their children's education, with outlays related to transportation being larger.

"Because both parents were tied up at work and had less time to look after the kids, dual income earners spent more on private education," the institute said. Transportation related spending was higher since two people had to move back and forth from work.

On the other hand, single income earning families actually spent more on recreation and on culture-related activities. Outlays in this field stood at 5.8 percent of total earnings for single bread earning households and 5.2 percent for dual income families.

"The difference seems to derive from dual income families generally having less free time to spend on recreation," it said.

Dual income households spent more on eating out.

HRI, then said as of last year, 4 out of 10 households in South Korea had both the husband and wife holding jobs. This is up from 39.1 percent in 2006.

It said with dual income families expected to rise in the coming years, there will be growth in spending on education and other businesses that cater to the lifestyles of people with more money but less free time. (Yonhap)