China wage growth slows in respite for bosses

In a breather for Hong Kong manufacturers, mainland wage increases are showing signs of slowing down.

A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics that was released yesterday showed the average monthly wage of migrant workers grew 11.8 per cent to 2,290 yuan (HK$2,900) last year, about half the 21.2 per cent increase seen in 2011.

While minimum wages are ordained to jump 13 per cent in each of the five years to 2015 in order to attain the target of making them 40 per cent of the average local salary in a province, manufacturers and labour rights activists expect wage increases to slow further as economic growth tapers off in the country.

"Wages jumped 53 per cent over the three years to 2012, which translates into an annual average growth of 17.6 per cent," said Liu Kaiming, the director of a Shenzhen-based labour rights group.

"So it would be natural for wage growth to slow down at some point. I believe it will slow further in the next two years."

Shenzhen's workers enjoy the highest minimum wages on the mainland but the pace of wage rises slowed to 6.7 per cent in the annual adjustment this year - compared with an increment of 11 to 17 per cent in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and in Zhejiang province.