Average weekly working hours in Seoul drop sharply in August

The average weekly working hours in South Korea dropped sharply in August from a month earlier, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey conducted by Statistics Korea, the average weekly working hours stood at 39.9 hours last month, down from 44.1 hours tallied a month earlier. This marked the lowest level for August since 1982 when related figures started to be compiled. The working hours remained at around 55 in the 1980s, but they dropped to near 50 in the 1990s. Since 2004, the figures came down to the 40-hour range because of the introduction of the five-day work week. The decline in working hours last month is in part due to a national holiday that coincided with when the survey was conducted. "In particular, this year's National Liberation Day fell on Thursday and many people had a day off on Friday of that week for a longer holiday," a statistics agency official said.