China raises salaries for government workers to boost spending
China has awarded a range of civil servants across the nation their first significant pay rise in years, according to people familiar with the matter, as policymakers try to boost morale and spur spending.
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The basic salaries of many government employees have been bolstered by at least 500 yuan ($68.51) per month, according to people who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. That wage hike has been backdated to July, they said.
The percentage increases varied depending on the base salary, with one of the people saying it amounted to a raise of roughly 5%. China last publicly hiked civil servants’ wages in 2015, when some 40 million staffers got an average lift of 300 yuan per month. Social media users suggested salaries were also boosted in 2018 and 2021, but the government never confirmed the hikes and the percentage increases are unclear.
The Communist Party hasn’t published a public announcement on this month’s wage hikes, making it hard to determine the scope of the program or who will foot the bill. But the unexpected increase extends to teachers, policemen and bureaucrats from around the nation of 1.4 billion people, the people said.
For some, the pay rises appeared without explanation. A police officer in southwestern China said he saw a 3,500 yuan lump sum in his December payslip labeled “back payment,” though he
