Last Year Middle-Class Inflation Rate 5.2%... "Biggest Burden"

Statistics Korea Releases Consumer Price Index by Household Characteristics for 2021 and 2022
Higher Inflation Rates Observed in Households with Two or More Members, Aged 60+, and Non-Workers

Last year, the inflation rate for the middle-income group, defined as the middle 60% by income, was higher than the average. This means that the middle class faced relatively greater inflationary pressure. Additionally, households with two or more members, those aged 60 and above, and non-worker households experienced higher inflation rates.

On the 2nd, Statistics Korea released the "2021 and 2022 Consumer Price Index by Household Characteristics" report containing these findings.

This consumer price index by household characteristics is an experimental statistic, not a nationally approved statistic. It was created by calculating weighted consumer expenditure shares by household characteristics using the 2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey data on expenditure items and the consumer price index by item (2020?2022), and then applying a weighted arithmetic average method to the consumer price index item weights.

According to the data, when classified based on equivalized income, the annual inflation rate for the middle 60% income group last year was calculated at 5.2%. The overall annual consumer price inflation rate last year was 5.1%.

The inflation rate for the bottom 20% income group was 5.1%, the same as the overall households, while the top 20% income group had a lower rate of 5.0% compared to all households.

By age of the household head, households headed by those aged 60 and above experienced an inflation rate of 5.3%, exceeding the overall average of 5.1%. The rates were 5.1% for ages 40?59 and 4.9% for those 39 and under, indicating that inflationary pressure increased with the age of the household head.

By household size, single-person households had an inflation rate of 4.8%, lower than 5.1% for households with two or more members. Households with a working household head had an inflation rate of 5.0%, lower than 5.2% for non-worker households.