Coronavirus: Chinese incomes tumble for the first time on record in fresh challenge for Beijing

China’s per capita disposable income dropped 3.9 per cent in the first quarter, the first decline since the data series began in 2013

Figures released on Friday also showed the number of rural migrant workers taking jobs at the end of February plummeted by 30 per cent

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Per capita consumer spending in China dropped 12.5 per cent year-on-year to 5,082 yuan (US$718) in the first three months. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:15pm, 17 Apr 2020Updated: 6:15pm, 17 Apr 2020

Chinese people have suffered the worst start to a year in recent memory as jobs vanished and disposable income shrank for the first time on record because of the coronavirus outbreak, challenging many of Beijing’s goals from poverty alleviation to narrowing the wealth gap.

Per capita disposable income dropped 3.9 per cent to 8,561 yuan (US$1,209) in the first quarter from a year ago, the first fall since the series began in 2013, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

China’s rural population suffered the most, with incomes dropping 4.7 per cent to 4,641 yuan (US$656), while urban residents saw their earnings fall by 3.9 per cent to 11,691 yuan (US$1652).

The figures highlight a widening urban-rural divide in the world’s second biggest economy and fly in face of the central government’s goal of narrowing the gap between cities and the countryside.

Friday’s data also showed that the number of rural migrant workers taking jobs outside their hometowns at the end of February plummeted by 30 per cent to 122.5 million, meaning about a third of China’s migrant workers were unemployed. The statistics agency did not provide the March figure.

For migrant workers who managed to return to their jobs, their monthly salary plunged 7.9 per cent to 3,680 yuan (US$520), marking the first decline in their salaries since China started publicising the figure in 2009.

Tumbling incomes will add pressure to China’s goal of lifting all citizens out of absolute poverty in 2020 – a goal that President Xi Jinping has repeatedly vowed to achieve after the outbreak is over.