Still Making It
Report

Still Making It

An Analysis of Manufacturing Labour Costs in China

The Economist Intelligence Unit
EIU, 2014
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Like much of China’s economic data, its labor statistics boggle the mind. Despite decades of double-digit growth, Chinese factory wages remain an average of little more than $2 per hour, a mere fraction of the rates in Germany, the United States and Japan. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts more of the same in its innovative research report. getAbstract recommends this unique study to investors and executives seeking insights into a major factor propelling the world’s second-biggest economy.

Summary

Chinese factory workers keep getting double-digit raises, yet their wages remain supremely competitive compared to most other countries. Chinese manufacturing pay soared an average of 11.9% per year from 2001 to 2012. Despite that surge, the average hourly factory wage in 2012 was $2.10, a tiny fraction of Germany’s $45.80, France’s $39.80 and the United States’ $35.70. Chinese workers also make a pittance compared to their peers in Japan and South Korea, both of which pay north of $20 hourly. But China’s manufacturing rivals Vietnam, India and Indonesia offer cheaper workers.

Because China...

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The Economist Intelligence Unit is an independent research and analysis organization.

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