Cha-Ching in Beijing: Capital Leads National Trend of Rising White Collar Wages

Good news for Beijing office workers: their salaries lead the way in a national trend of rising white collar wages.

According to a South China Morning Post survey (via China Daily), there was a third quarter four percent uptick in the average wages for such office staff across China to RMB 7,500 per month, while the capital boasted the highest average salary among that bunch, topping off at RMB 10,000 per month. Shanghai followed closely behind with RMB 9,500, while Shenzhen trailed at third with RMB 8,500.

The article also notes a small decrease in competition for such jobs in 2016's third quarter, with 38 people applying per position for these positions on average, down from 45 and 48 in the past two quarters.

While any salary bump is of course cause to celebrate, skeptics could very well dismiss a four percent increase as minimal in the capital. That is because of Beijing's runaway rent rates, an issue that has plagued the city for years now. In 2013 IB Times ran an article about average rents rising by 19 percent in 2010, 13 percent in 2011 and 11.1 percent in 2012, leaving the author to declare Beijing "nearly uninhabitable, but because of prices, not smog." Late last month the New York Times, meanwhile, ran a story about how unaffordable housing has lead Beijing's artists to flock in droves to nearby Yanjiao.

And while all that quality of life stress won't be eased by an average four percent salary increase, Beijing workers will likely at least find some solace in diverting whatever remains of that disposable income into Singles' Day deals come November 11, an online retail phenomenon that shopping behemoth Alibaba predicts will reach new record heights once again this year (according to Bloomberg). One can only hope that this quarter's salary trend continues upward, so that Beijing's white collar workers can allot some savings instead of relying on retail therapy.

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Photo: China Daily, New York Times