Urban salaries increase, financial and mining top field

The average annual salary of people working in urban public firms saw an increase of 6,669 yuan ($922.32) in 2023, to 120,698 yuan, a 5.5 percent increase year-on-year in real terms.

Meanwhile, the increase of annual salary for people working in urban private firms was 3,103 yuan, to 68,340 yuan, up 4.5 percent year-on-year in real terms, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

Wages in finance and mining sectors recorded a comparatively faster growth than other sectors, with the wage growth surpassing 10 percent for both industries in private and public firms in urban areas.

In the financial industry in public firms in urban areas, the average wage growth rate reached 13.4 percent, while it was 13.2 percent growth in private companies. In the mining industry, the average wage growth was 11.1 percent in public firms and 10.4 percent in private companies.

The higher growth rate in the mining industry is mainly influenced by factors such as the steady increase in the supply of major mineral products and the acceleration of the process of the energy transition to green and low-carbon, said Wang Pingping, director of the NBS's population and employment census department.

The rapid growth of the new energy vehicle industry generated strong demand for lithium batteries that make the lithium mineral industry more welcome in recent years, with more companies in the field tapping into mining the lithium resources.

Wang added that, among the three major sectors of the financial industry with higher wage levels in public companies in urban areas, the average wage of the monetary service industry (mainly banks) recorded an increase of 6.0 percent, while financial services industries (mainly securities funds and investment companies) saw 6.7 percent growth.

The average salary of information transmission, software and information technology service industry reached 231,810 yuan in 2023, average income in the finance industry reached 197,663 yuan, and 171,447 yuan for scientific research and information technology services industry, making them the industries with the highest overall annual income in urban public firms in 2023.