China reported a 17.8 percent year-on-year growth in average
wage for urban employees in the first quarter of this year, sources
with the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.
In the January-March period, urban employees' pay averaged 5,516
yuan (US$716), up 17.8 percent from the same period of last
year.
According to the bureau's sample survey of 59,000 urban
households nationwide, urban residents' per-capita disposable
income stood at 3,935 yuan (US$511) in the first quarter, up 19.5
percent, or 16.6 percent in real term.
The urbanites' spending on consumption averaged 2,620 yuan
(US$340) per-capita, up 16.7 percent, or 13.9 percent in real
term.
In a related development, the cash income of rural dwellers went
up 15.2 percent, or 12.1 percent in real term, to 1,260 yuan
(US$164) in the three-month period.
The real-term growth in urbanites' income was 5.8 percentage
points higher year-on-year, while farmers' income grew 0.6
percentage points quicker.
(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2007)