How have wages for Chinese people developed in China and what does the future look like?

In recent years, the Chinese government has been pushing for pay increases to retain public support and boost domestic consumption. Wages have also risen as millions of Chinese move from the countryside into the cities, and as employers struggle to find and retain workers amidst China’s rapidly aging population. According to Bloomberg, salary figures from the first three quarters of 2013 showed an increase of about 11 percent from the comparable period in 2012. Urban residents saw their disposable income increase 9.7 percent last year, or 7 percent when factoring in inflation; in the same period, rural residents’ net income rose 9.3 percent after adjusting for inflation, as per official statistics released by China’s statistics bureau. In 2014, China’s wages are set to increase by 10 percent or more, which is expected to further boost consumption and drive low-cost manufactures out of the country. McKinsey’s research suggests that by 2022, more than 75 percent of China’s urban consumers will earn RMB 60,000 to 229,000 a year.