Guangdong province will increase its minimum wage by an average 18.6% beginning in March, an indication that China’s labor costs may rise strongly again this year, Reuters reported, citing state media. The wage adjustment will raise minimum salaries in China’s export hub by between US$21.27 and US$30.37. This will make Guangzhou’s minimum wage the highest in the country at US$200 a month. Pay increases accelerated last year as China’s economic boom expanded into the hinterlands and competition for labor grew fierce. Beijing has repeatedly pledged to increase workers’ share of the national income in an effort to help boost domestic consumption.