Public-private wage gap persists as average annual salary nears RMB50,000

The average annual salary in China rose roughly 9% to almost RMB50,000 (US$8,039) in 2014, Caixin reported, citing figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. The growth was the slowest since 2011, with average salary for employees at public sector and state-owned firms up 7.1% to RMB56,000, while that for private sector workers grew 9% to RMB36,000. Feng Nailin, director of the bureau’s Population and Employment Statistics Department, acknowledged the disparity between the sectors’ salaries, as workers in state-owned financial institutions and telecom and information companies actually earned more than RMB100,000 for the first time in 2014.