Government and Policy

Minimum wage rises in 10 provinces and cities

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-01 15:03

The minimum wage in 10 provinces and cities including Hainan, Henan, Shaanxi and Anhui provinces,?as well as?Shenzhen city?was raised on July 1, National Business Daily reported Thursday.

Except Shenzhen, other provinces or regions increased their minimum wage by at least 20 percent, with the highest at 31.7 percent in the first-tier zone in Hainan.

The increase rate in Anhui was 25.9 percent, Yunnan 22 percent, Hunan 27.8 percent, Henan 23 percent.

"In recent years, the standard for China's minimum wage fell behind the average level of the world. Even after some adjustments this year, there is still chance for minimum wages in these regions to rise," said an expert.

He added that enterprises should enjoy more preferential polices from the government, like deduction of taxes, to deal with pressures from the minimum wage rise.

Statistics shows that China's minimum wage is less then 15 percent of the world's average, ranking 159.