Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 27, 2002
Occupation Income Gap Widens in Beijing
Employees working in some of Beijing's more lucrative occupations found they earned nearly seven times of their less fortunate fellow citizens were paid last year.
Employees working in some of Beijing's more lucrative occupations found they earned nearly seven times of their less fortunate fellow citizens were paid last year.
According to a survey of salaries in 86 fields recently conducted by the Beijing Bureau of Statistics, the average yearly for workers of Beijing in 2001 was 19,155 yuan (US$ 2319), a 13.7 increase over last year, given the price factors.
The survey also revealed, however, that despite general growth in incomes, the income gap in China's capital continued to grow last year. The city's highest salaries were 6.6 times as large as wages earned by the cities lower third, with the gap growing by 160 percent year-on-year.
About 4 million people, 39.4 per cent of all workers, made more than the average income, the bureau said, while another 30 per cent earn less than 15,000 yuan a year.
Workers in the finance and insurance sectors saw the biggest increase in 2001, a 63.2 per cent jump to 37,000 yuan per year on average.