Migrant workers earn average US$120 monthly income
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-23 09:53 Migrant laborers in Chinese cities earn an average
of 966 yuan (120 U.S. dollars) per month, much more than the average farmer, but
still very low compared to urban residents.
The per capita monthly income for half of the migrant laborers is less than
800 yuan (101 dollars), with 19.67 percent below 500 yuan (63 dollars),
according to a latest survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS).
Ten percent of the 29,425 migrant workers surveyed have a monthly income of
1,500 yuan (190 dollars).
Migrant workers are mostly poor farmers who leave the countryside to find
jobs in cities. There are more than 100 million migrant workers in China.
The average income of Chinese farmers is about one fourth that of the urban
residents earn.
The shrinking of farmlands are producing a bigger army of migrant workers in
the country and has caused many social troubles.
The survey shows that jobs in east China are the most lucrative for migrant
workers, who earn an average of 1090 yuan (138 dollars) per month there,
compared with 880 yuan (111 dollars) and 835 yuan (106 dollars) in the less
developed central and western regions.
Migrant laborers spend an average of 463 yuan (59 dollars) per month; 72 yuan
(9.1 dollars) on accommodation, 235 yuan (30 dollars) on food and 47 yuan (6
dollars) on recreation.
To improve their professional skills, half of the respondents received
vocational training, while 24.1 percent were self-taught.
Of the 5,065 respondents who brought children with them to the cities, only
1.05 percent had seen their children drop out of school, and 49.2 percent had to
pay an average registration fee of 1,226 yuan (155 dollars) in addition to
regular tuition fees. (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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