New data found that South Korea's household income gap widened for the second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of last year when the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic first began.

According to a Statistics Korea survey of household trends released on Thursday, the monthly average income of households in the bottom 20 percent income bracket stood at one-point-64 million won in the fourth quarter of last year, up one-point-seven percent from the same period in 2019. 

During the same period, households in the upper 20 percent income range saw their monthly average income climb two-point-seven percent to a little over ten million won. The difference was mainly due to earned income.

According to the agency, households in the bottom 20 saw their monthly earned income drop 13-point-two percent while households in the bottom 40 percent witnessed a five-point-six percent decline. Those in the upper 20 percent income range, meanwhile, grew one-point-eight percent. 

The agency said households in lower income brackets took a devastating blow as they were exposed to relatively poor working conditions. 

The labor market was at its worst state since the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in the fourth quarter of 2020 with the number of people with jobs plunging by more than 440-thousand.