The average wage of China's urban employees rose by 13.2 percent during the first half of 2005, according to figures released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

An NBS report said the number of urban employees reached 110.3 million by the end of June, a year-on-year increase of 1,344,000.

The report also shows that during the first half of 2005, the total wage of urban employees stood at 889.5 billion yuan (109.67 billion), up 14.6 percent compared with the same period last year. The average of wages came to 8,040 yuan (US$991.37), increasing by 13.2 percent year-on-year, 0.9 percentage points lower than the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2005)