The number of rural migrant workers in China reached about 286.5 million by the end of 2017, with an average monthly income of 3,485 yuan ($550.3), says a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on April 27.

The report says that the number of rural migrant workers grew by 4.81 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent. The figure of Chinese rural migrant workers in cities reached 137.1 million in 2017, an increase of 1.25 million from 2016.

In addition, the average monthly income of these workers rose by 210 yuan to 3,485 yuan from 2016 to 2017. The average monthly income of a migrant worker was 632 yuan more than that of a worker who stayed locally.

The report also reveals that the distribution of rural migrant workers varies between regions. The number of migrant workers in eastern China hit 159.93 million in 2017, up 330,000 from 2016 and accounting for 55.8 percent of the total.

The figures in middle, western and northeastern China are 59.12 million, 57.54 million and 9.14 million respectively, occupying 20.6 percent, 20.1 percent and 3.2 percent of the total.