Average wages record a slow climb

CHINA reported a slowdown in the growth of average wages for urban employees in the first quarter of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Urban employees' pay averaged 7,399 yuan (US$1,057) in the January-March period, 875 yuan more than the same period last year. The growth was 13.4 percent, 4.9 percentage points lower than the same period of last year.

The average pay in the finance sector topped the list at 16,048 yuan. The information technology sector was second with 13,972 yuan, and the sector of scientific research, technology service and geological survey ranked third with 11,604 yuan. The construction industry was at the bottom of the list with 5,109 yuan.

Compared with the first quarter last year, pay growth in all sectors dropped. The growth rate in the finance sector was 19.9 percent in the first quarter, down 10.4 percentage points from a year earlier.