As different parts of China have very different standards of living, China does not set one

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

for the entire nation. Instead, the task of setting minimum wages is delegated to the local governments. Each province, municipality, or region sets its own minimum wage in accordance with its own local conditions. According to the country's Employment Promotion Plan, minimum wages are supposed to increase in accordance with local living standards by at least 13 percent through 2015 and be no less than 40 percent of the average local wages. Minimum wages under such policies increased by an average 12.6 percent rate between 2008-2012. However, the growth rate of minimum wage levels decreased in 2016, reflecting the Chinese government’s effort to reduce pressure on enterprises resulting from the uneven growth between labor costs and production rates. The overall trends for the change of minimum wage levels diverge across provinces, with much smaller increases in developed regions and more rapid growth in less developed regions. From June 2015 and June 2016, 22 regions made changes to their minimum wage levels. In 2016, the average growth rate dropped to 14.5 percent from 17 percent in 2015. The Guangdong provincial government announced that it would maintain 2015 minimum wage levels in 2016 and 2017, and the minimum wage growth rate in Shanghai has decreased from 12.3 in 2015 to 8.4 percent in 2016. Guizhou province stands out as the region carrying the most significant hike of minimum wage levels in 2016, 55 percent. As of 1 Sep, 2021,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

has the highest monthly minimum wage in China's mainland, at 2,590 RMB per month, while

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

has the highest hourly wage in China's mainland, at 25.3 RMB per hour.

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

has the lowest monthly minimum wage and the lowest hourly minimum wage in China's mainland, at 1,120 RMB per month and 10.6 RMB per hour.

Minimum wage levels by jurisdiction

The table below lists monthly and hourly minimum wages by province and wage districts. Provinces are divided into different wage districts:

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, for instance, is divided up into Class A, B, and C, which each have their own minimum monthly and hourly wage. Note: these figures do not take into account deductions, such as pensions or social insurance.

References

{{Asia topic, Minimum wage in Labor relations in China

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Chinese labour law China law-related lists

Minimum wage levels by jurisdiction

See also

References