12,000 yuan/month to recruit a noodle puller, 8,000 yuan/month to recruit a bus driver, or a porter; 6,000 yuan/ month to recruit a cold dishes maker with 4 days off a week; monthly salary for delivery guys, maternity matrons exceeds 10,000 yuan…

Some blue collars earn a higher salary than white collars in many sectors in Beijing this year, according to a survey conducted by Beijing Youth Daily.

Beijing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security’s guidance wage shows that 36 blue-collar job positions, including on-duty electric power generation operators, storage and delivery workers, bakers, enjoyed a dramatic growth in annual salary. They earn 50,000 yuan a year on average. The guidance wage of an on-duty electric power generation operator reaches 102,959 yuan per annum, more than double from the previous year.

Why low-end positions get better salary?

An official with Beijing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security said that the jobs in service sector reflect the structure of demand and supply of the market. “The catering service sector and home service sector have a high demand, if migrant workers in these positions cannot get a high pay, they may move to Tianjin or Hebei province because living cost in Beijing is so high.”

Wang Xiaohong, a senior product manager of ganji.com explained that the prime reason is that blue-collar jobs have “poor reputation”. For example, delivery guys are usually associated with working in smelly sweat; the second reason is that these jobs are quite toilsome, for instance, an on-duty worker has to work at night; thirdly, some blue collars have skills. A noodle puller earns more because he/she has own recipe.

Wang added that the difference in division of labor in society caused by mental labor and manual labor is reducing, which reflects social progress.