Shenzhen Raises Minimum Wage Levels

March 11, 2013 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 3 minutes

Mar. 11 – Shenzhen has raised its monthly minimum wage levels by RMB100 to RMB1,600 from March 1, 2013, while its hourly minimum wages have been adjusted from RMB13.3 to RMB14.5.

This news comes after Guangdong Province recently announced wage hikes of nearly 20 percent that would have seen Guangzhou overtake Shenzhen as the city with the highest monthly minimum wage levels in Mainland China from May 1, 2013. However, Shenzhen’s announcement ensures that the city will continue to hold the nation’s top rank.

According to an official from the Shenzhen Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, raising the minimum wage levels will help attract more labor resources to Shenzhen, which in turn will promote the city’s economic development and industrial upgradation. Employees who get paid below the minimum wage standards can file a report with the city’s Labor Supervision Bureau.

The new minimum wage standards are expected to benefit about 1.5 million workers in Shenzhen.

So far, eight provinces and cities have adjusted their minimum wage levels in 2013:

Beijing
Guangdong (effective May 1, 2013)
Guangxi
Guizhou
Henan
Shaanxi
Shenzhen
Zhejiang

With these latest adjustments coming into effect, Shenzhen holds the highest monthly minimum wages in the country at RMB1,600, followed by Guangdong’s “Class A” districts (i.e. Guangzhou) at RMB1,550 (effective from May 1, 2013). Meanwhile, Beijing maintains the nation’s highest hourly wage rate at RMB15.2, followed by Guangdong’s “Class A” districts and Shenzhen at RMB15.0 and RMB14.5, respectively.

China aims to increase its nationwide monthly minimum wages by 13 percent annually before 2015, and provinces including Anhui, Gansu, Liaoning and Jiangxi are expected to adjust their minimum wage levels later this year.

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