Average Annual Wages of Persons Employed in Urban Units in 2024

In 2024, the average annual wages of persons employed in urban non-private units and private units nationwide stood at 124,110 yuan and 69,476 yuan respectively; the average annual wages of persons employed in enterprises above the designated size stood at 102,452 yuan, of which the average annual wages of middle management and above came in at 203,014 yuan, that of professional and technical personnel came in at 148,046 yuan, that of office staff and related personnel came in at 93,189 yuan, that of personnel engaged in social production services and life services came in at 77,584 yuan, and that of personnel engaged in production and manufacturing came in at 78,561 yuan.

I. Average Annual Wages of Persons Employed in Urban Non-Private Units

In 2024, the average annual wages of persons employed in urban non-private units nationwide was 124,110 yuan, an increase of 3,412 yuan over the previous year, a nominal increase [1] of 2.8 percent and an increase of 2.6 percent on a comparable basis [2].

The average annual wages of persons employed in urban non-private units grouped by region, sector and registration type are detailed in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3.

Table 1 Average Annual Wages and Growth Rates of Persons Employed in Urban Non-private Units by Region in 2024

Table 2 Average Annual Wages and Growth Rates of Persons Employed in Urban Non-private Units by Sector in 2024

Table 3 Average Annual Wages and Growth Rates of Persons Employed in Urban Non-private Units by Registration Type in 2024

II. Average Annual Wages of Persons Employed in Urban Private Units

In 2024, the average annual wages of persons employed in urban private units nationwide was 69,476 yuan, an increase of 1,136 yuan over the previous year, a nominal increase [1] of 1.7 percent and an increase of 4.0 percent on a comparable basis.

The average annual wages of persons employed in urban private units grouped by region and sector are detailed in Table 4 and Table 5.

Table 4 Average Annual Wages and Growth Rates of Persons Employed in Urban Private Units by Region in 2024

Table 5 Average Annual Wages and Growth Rates of Persons Employed in Urban Private Units by Sector in 2024

III. Average Annual Wages of Persons Employed in Enterprises Above the Designated Size

In 2024, the average annual wages of persons employed in enterprises above the designated size stood at 102,452 yuan, an increase of 4,356 yuan over the previous year, a nominal increase of 4.4 percent and an increase of 4.2 percent on a comparable basis. Among them, the average annual wages of middle management and above came in at 203,014 yuan, up by 2.4 percent; that of professional and technical personnel came in at 148,046 yuan, up by 5.0 percent; that of office staff and related personnel came in at 93,189 yuan, up by 4.1 percent; that of personnel engaged in social production services and life services came in at 77,584 yuan, up by 3.1 percent; and that of personnel engaged in production and manufacturing came in at 78,561 yuan, up by 4.1 percent.

The average annual wages of persons employed in enterprises above the designated size grouped by region, sector and registration type are detailed in Table 6, Table 7 and Table 8.

Table 6 Average Annual Wages of Employed Persons in Enterprises Above the Designated Size by Region and Position in 2024

Table 7 Average Annual Wages of Employed Persons in Enterprises Above the Designated Size by Sector and Position in 2024

Table 8 Average Annual Wages of Employed Persons in Enterprises Above the Designated Size by Registration Type and Position in 2024

Notes:

[1] Nominal growth is shown in this article unless otherwise stated herein.

[2] A comparable basis refers to the influence of changes in unit coverage after deducting prices and the Fifth National Economic Census. After the Fifth National Economic Census, more small and micro enterprises are included in the statistics range of labor wages; the statistics coverage is more comprehensive.

Annotations:

1. Explanatory Notes

(1) Personnel employed in the unit: refers to those who work in the unit and are remunerated for their work by the unit.

(2) Gross wages: according to the Regulations on the Composition of Total Wages (please refer to the official website http://www.stats.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfggz/tjxzfg2020/201708/t20170803_1758101.html for details), gross wages refer to the total amount of labor remuneration paid directly by the unit to all of those employed in the unit during the reporting period. Gross wages should be included in the calculation of gross wages whether they are charged to cost or not, and whether they are paid in currency or in kind. It should be clear that the gross wages refer to the pre-tax salary, which includes the amounts withheld or paid by the unit on behalf of the employee from their salary, such as individual income tax, social security contributions, and housing fund contributions, as well as expenses like housing and utility bills. However, it does not include cash or physical items distributed from the unit's trade union funds or accounts, shareholder dividends, earnings from equity incentives, or various other capital gains.

(3) Average wages: refers to the per capita level of wages paid by the unit during the reporting period.

The calculation formula is: average wages of employed persons = total wages of employed persons/average number of employed persons

(4) The classification of the five categories of jobs is based on the Occupational Classification System of the People’s Republic of China (2022 Edition) of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China.

Middle management and above: persons who hold leadership positions and have decision-making and management authority in the unit and its functional departments, which include the principal or senior management of the unit (including same-level positions and deputy positions) and the head of the first-level department or internal department within the unit (including same-level positions and deputy positions), and may also include the head of the management department within the first-level department (including deputy positions) for super-large units.

Professional and technical personnel: persons specializing in various types of scientific research and professional and technical work. Persons working in this type of occupation are generally required to have received a systematic professional education, to have the appropriate theoretical knowledge of the profession, and to have been assessed and appointed to professional and technical positions according to the prescribed standard conditions, which include persons who have not been appointed to professional and technical positions but are working in professional and technical positions. Specifically, they include scientific researchers, engineering technicians, agricultural technicians, aircraft and ship technicians, health professionals, economic and financial professionals, supervision, legal, social, and religious professionals, teaching professionals, literary, artistic, and sports professionals, press, publishing, and cultural professionals, and other professional and technical personnel.

Office staff and related personnel: persons engaged in administrative operations, administrative affairs, administrative law enforcement and arbitration, safety and security, and firefighting and emergency rescue in State organs, party and mass organizations, enterprises, and public institutions. Specifically, they include office staff, security and fire-fighting personnel, and other office staff and related personnel.

Personnel engaged in social production services and life services: persons who are working in social production services and life services such as wholesale and retail trades, transport, storage and postal services, hotels and catering services, information transmission, software and information technology services, and financial intermediation, real estate, leasing and business services, technical assistance, ecological protection, and culture, sports and entertainment. Specifically, they include personnel engaged in wholesale and retail trades, transport, storage and postal services, hotels and catering services, information transmission, software and information technology services, financial intermediation, real estate services, leasing and business services, technical support services, water conservancy, environment and public facilities management services, residential services, supply services of electricity, gas and water, repair and fabrication services, culture and education services, health, sports and recreation services, and other social production services and life services.

Personnel engaged in production and manufacturing: persons engaged in the production of products and the manufacture of equipment, the mining, the construction, and the operation of transportation equipment and related personnel. Specifically, they include personnel engaged in processing of agricultural and sideline products, food and beverage production and processing, tobacco and its products processing, textile, knitting and dyeing processing, textile, clothing and leather and fur products processing, timber processing, the production of furniture and wood products, paper and paper products production and processing, printing and reproduction of recording media, manufacture of articles for culture, education, arts and crafts, sport and entertainment activities, petroleum processing and coking, chemical processing of coal, manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products, pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemical fiber manufacturing, manufacture of rubber and plastics products, manufacture of non-metallic mineral products, mining, smelting and pressing of metals, basic processing of mechanical manufacturing, manufacture of metal products, manufacture of general purpose machinery, manufacture of special purpose machinery, manufacture of automobiles, manufacture of railway, ship, aerospace and other transport equipment, manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus, manufacture of computers, communication equipment and other electronic equipment, manufacture of measuring instruments and machinery, utilization of renewable resources, production, transmission and distribution of electricity, heat power, gas and water, building construction, operation of transportation equipment and general construction machinery, production support, and also include other production and manufacturing-related personnel.

2. Statistical Coverage

The statistics range of labor wages covers legal - person units with 5 or more employed persons in the urban region, totaling 2.767 million units. The survey respondents do not include self-employed businesses and freelancers.

Private legal entities in urban areas (including units with industrial activities statistically recognized as legal entities) include private limited liability companies, private joint stock limited companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships among domestic invested enterprises.

Non-private legal entities in urban areas and (including units with industrial activities statistically recognized as legal entities) include domestically invested units (including state organs and public institutions) other than private entities, enterprises with investment from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreign invested enterprises.

Enterprises above the designated size specifically refer to corporate bodies in 16 industry categories, including industry above the designated size (including mining, manufacturing, production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water), qualified construction, wholesale and retail trades above the designated size, hotels and catering services above the designated size, all real estate development and management entities with development and operation activities, service industry above the designated size (including transport, storage, and postal services, information transmission, software and information technology services), leasing and business services, scientific research and technology services, water conservancy, environment and public facilities management, residential services, repair and other services, education, health and social services, culture, sports and entertainment, as well as property management, real estate intermediary services and other industries).

3. Survey Methods

According to the Integrated Enterprise Reporting Statistical Survey System and the Statistical Reporting System on Labor and Wages formulated by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, a combination of comprehensive and sampling surveys is adopted for the urban entity.

4. Division on Eastern, Central, Western and Northeastern Regions

The eastern region includes 10 provinces (municipalities) of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan.

The central region includes 6 provinces of Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan.

The western region includes 12 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) of Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Xizang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang.

The northeast region includes 3 provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang.

5. Industrial Classification Standard

The industrial classification standard of wage statistics shall be implemented in accordance with the Industrial Classification for National Economic Activities (GB/T4754-2017).

6. Classification Standards on Registration

Since 2023, the statistical computations of labor wages have been performed in line with the new statistical category of registration on the basis of the Regulations on Statistical Classification of Market Entities (No. 14 [2023] of the National Bureau of Statistics of China) (please refer to the official website https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/gjtjbz/202302/t20230213_1902786.html for details).