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China technology
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Tech and scientific workers overtake finance professionals as highest-paid jobs in China

  • The average annual income for workers employed by companies in the telecoms, software and information technology fields reached US$22,998 per person last year
  • The average annual wage in information technology was 1.78 times higher than the annual average for all industries

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Workers check products at Contemporary Amperex Technology in Ningde, Fujian Province. The average annual wage in scientific research was 1.47 times higher than other industries. Photo: Xinhua
Minghe Hu

Compensation levels in China’s finance sector continue to lose ground to the tech industry, with the latest example being scientists and researchers who are now better paid than financial professionals, according to a recent report.

After average salaries in China’s information technology industry exceeded those in the financial sector for the first time in 2016, scientific researchers have now achieved the same milestone when it comes to paychecks issued last year, according to a report released by the data research institute of 21st Century Business Herald on Tuesday.

The average annual income for workers employed by companies in the telecoms, software and information technology fields reached 161,352 yuan (US$22,998) per person, followed by an average annual income of 133,459 yuan in the scientific research and technical services industry and 131,405 yuan in finance, according to the report.

“It shows that income is not only correlated with education but also to the economic benefits of the industry,” said the report.

The average annual wage in information technology was 1.78 times higher than the annual average for all industries, while the scientific research sector was 1.47 times higher, a sign that the country is now heavily investing in technology and scientific development.

China’s digital economy has grown at an annual rate of more than 20 per cent in recent years and accounts for about a third of its GDP and a quarter of the national workforce.
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