Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - Workers in North Rhine-Westphalia also had to accept significant falls in real wages in the third quarter of this year due to the sharp rise in prices. The price-adjusted gross monthly earnings of full-time employees in manufacturing and in the service sector were 6.9 percent below the previous year's level, as reported by the State Statistical Office IT.NRW on Wednesday. Real wages in North Rhine-Westphalia were thus lower than in the same period of the previous year for the fourth time in a row. According to IT.NRW, the increase in consumer prices ( 8.6 percent) exceeded the increase in nominal wages ( 1.1 percent).