A Census and Statistics Department study released on Monday found that households with monthly income below HK$4,000 (about US$512) in Hong Kong rose from 6.7 percent in 1996 to 9.2 percent last year.

The study also shows that those with income of HK$40,000 (about US$5121) or more grew from 15 percent to 17 percent in Hong Kong.

The department said one of the reasons for the rise in the former was the increasing number of older-person households. The increase in the latter was mainly associated with the growth of two-earner households and improvement in the educational attainment of the population.

The study found that the median monthly income from main employment of the working population rose 5.3 percent from HK$9,500 (about US$1216) in 1996 to HK$10,000 (about US$1,280) last year.

The distribution of income from main employment by decile group indicated that there was a fall in the share of income attributed to lower decile groups, and a rise in the share to higher ones.

The increased dispersion in the distribution of employment income from 1996 to 2006 was associated with changes in the demographics of the population and the structure of the economy over the period, including the income differentials due to gender, lifecycle and education, the department said.

Hong Kong Commissioner for Census and Statistics Fung Hing-wang said Hong Kong is an open city economy with a strong agglomeration of service sector activities that are highly developed and well diversified, employing workers with multifarious experience and skills.

"Given this nature, income disparity in Hong Kong tends to be greater than in those places with a preponderance of manufacturing and agricultural activities. Moreover, there is a common trend towards greater income disparity in many economies. Hong Kong is not unique in moving in this direction," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2007)