The front page of the New Express (新快报) from Guangzhou today reports on new statistics released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showing that Guangzhou in 2011 had the highest average salary among 22 provincial capitals and four municipalities in China, namely 57,473 yuan.
Guangzhou narrowly beat out Beijing, where the average salary is 56,061 yuan; Nanjing came in third place with 54,713 yuan. The statistics also revealed that when private companies are not included, the national urban average salary for China was 42,452 yuan. Average salaries in 11 cities exceeded the national average, namely Guangzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Yinchuan, Shenyang, Wuhan, Hefei, Changsha and Taiyuan.
The highest average salaries, New Express points out, are still paid in the eastern part of China; provincial capitals in the central part of China like Chongqing and Chengdu are still towards the end of the list.
The picture on the front page is of a performance by two artists in Wuhan for an event marking Chinese valentine’s day.
Note: Although this and various other articles reporting on these statistics did not make it absolutely clear, the statistics reported on here refers to public sector employees only, and hence excludes salaries paid in the private sector.
Links and sources
New Express (新快报) (26省会城市平均工资广州居首)
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