A recent survey conducted by the China Youth Daily showed that 85 percent of those interviewed said their salary increases were less than the country's average annual growth rate: 12 percent,according to National Statistics1 Bureau2.

A recent survey conducted by the China Youth Daily showed that 85 percent of those interviewed said their salary increases were less than the country's average annual growth rate: 12 percent,according to National Statistics Bureau.

Figures show the country is going through its fastest-ever period of growth since it began opening up 30 years ago.

The annual wages of an average worker rose from 12,422 yuan in 2002 to 21,001 yuan in 2006, the survey said.

Going against the trend, 7 percent of those polled³ said their salaries had fallen over the four-year period.

Of the 1,604 people interviewed, 64 percent said their salary rises could not match the economic development.

"My colleagues and I all questioned the 12 percent increase. It's just not real," Zhang, a software engineer with a leading IT company in Beijing, said.

"Most of us get a pay rise of about 400 yuan a year. Some haven't had a rise for two years."

Zhang said his pay rises were nothing compared to the rising prices of consumer goods.

In terms of who or what contributes most to the average growth of annual salaries, the survey showed that 50 percent people pointed⁴ to monopoly⁵ industries, 41 percent to companies' management teams, and 8.1 percent to ordinary employees. According to the China Economic Times, in 2005, some 8 percent of the country's workforce⁶, most employed by major State-owned companies, earned 55 percent of the total salaries.

The remaining 92 percent must be those who said their salaries didn't rise.