Salaries rose in Shanghai last year and the income gap narrowed, according to a report by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.

The per capita annual salary in the city reached 24,398 yuan (US$2,950) in 2004, up 10.1 percent on 2003.

Shanghai, a locomotive of China's economy, accounted for 5.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product last year. The average salary in China is around 14,000 yuan (US$1,690) per year.

Of 19 local industries surveyed by the bureau, information technology and financing offered the best paid jobs, with per capita annual salaries of 54,530 yuan (US$6,570) and 45,700 yuan (US$5,530) respectively.

Top professionals and those working in "monopoly" industries generally earned the most, the report said.

Community service jobs earned the least - 11,839 yuan (US$1,430) on average each year.

Meanwhile, the salary gap between the top and bottom industries, stood at US$5,162 last year, down from US$5,789 in 2003, according to the report.

"Shanghai's service sector is quite mature and even employees in low-end service businesses are skillful. This is one reason their salaries do not lag so far behind the top wage-earners," said Wu Qinghua, an analyst of human resources with the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

The number of high earners in Shanghai increased last year, with 19.1 percent of employees earning more than 35,000 yuan (US$4,230), compared to 14.7 percent who earned that in 2003, according to the report.

However, there are a few cities where employees earned more than their peers in Shanghai.

Shenzhen posted an average annual salary of 31,928 yuan (US$3,860) last year and Guangzhou 31,593 yuan (US$3,820).

"The overall size of Shanghai's economy is certainly bigger than any other city but Pearl River Delta cities have more private companies that offer higher salaries than State-owned firms in Shanghai do," said Wu.

(China Daily April 20, 2005)