Pay growth halves for Chinese workers in 2012

As China’s economic growth slows so has the annual average wage increase for the country’s migrant workers, Reuters reported. According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, the average monthly salary of workers grew 11.8% in 2012 to US$370 (2,290). In contrast, migrant wages rose 21.2% in 2011. Surveys show that the number of migrant workers grew by 3% in 2012, easing from a rate of 3.4% in 2011. An increase in migrant workers to inland manufacturing centers such as Chongqing, where wages are typically lower, probably contributed to the slower growth rate. Inland jobs are slowing the number of migrants moving to the Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas, which together took in more than 40% of new workers last year.