China professional technical staff wages up 5.0% to 155,491 yuan in 2025
In 2025, most industries in China's urban units saw continued growth in average wages, according to an interpretation by Xiao Ning, Deputy Director of the Population and Employment Statistics Department of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The data, released on May 15, 2026, covers 3.062 million legal entities with five or more employees, an increase of 295,000 from 2024.
For manufacturing, average wages in urban non-private units rose 5.2% year-on-year, while private-sector manufacturing wages increased 6.4%. The electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply sector saw even stronger growth: non-private wages up 7.1% and private up 4.5%. In transportation, storage, and postal services, non-private wages grew 4.8% and private wages 7.6%. The education sector recorded a 5.8% increase in non-private wages and a 5.3% increase in private wages.
Among above-scale enterprises, professional and technical personnel earned an average annual wage of 155,491 yuan in 2025, up 5.0% from the previous year. This growth rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than the average for all employees in above-scale enterprises. Within domestic above-scale enterprises, professional technical staff wages rose even faster, at 5.2%, outpacing the overall domestic enterprise average by 1.7 percentage points.
Other position averages in above-scale enterprises were: middle and senior management 210,016 yuan, clerical and related staff 94,936 yuan, social production and life service workers 79,857 yuan, and production and manufacturing workers 80,739 yuan. The NBS noted that a skills-oriented compensation distribution system is being established, fostering a virtuous cycle between skill improvement and wage growth.
The wage figures include bonuses, subsidies, and allowances, as well as individual income tax, social insurance contributions, and housing provident funds deducted from wages by employers. The survey excludes individual business owners and freelancers.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Original: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202605/t20260515_1963706.html