Chinese migrant workers exceed 260 mn by 2012

BEIJING: The number of Chinese migrant workers, the mainstay of its cheap labour force continue to grow as their total touched 262.61 million last year.

The migrant workers force increased by 3.9 per cent to 262.61 million with over 11 per cent increase in their salaries in 2012, according to latest official data which was released today.

The report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 163.36 million migrant workers sought jobs away from home lasting at least six months, marking a year-on-year increase of 3 per cent.

Most of these workers were from less-developed central and western regions.

The per capita monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2,290 yuan (USD 370.48) by the end of 2012.

It rose 11.8 per cent from the previous year, but the growth was 9.4 percentage points lower than that of 2011, the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the NBS as saying.

The transportation and construction sectors offered higher salaries, while migrant workers with jobs in the service, catering and manufacturing sectors earned less.

The average age of Chinese migrant workers stood at 37.3 in 2012, and male workers made up 66.4 per cent of the total, the NBS said.

The survey covered about two lakh rural laborers in over 7,500 villages around the country, said the NBS.