With the minimum wage up in Hubei Province from September 1, this year the country has 23 provinces and cities up the minimum wage, of which Shanghai led the country with 1620 yuan / month standard.On May 1, the other cities and municipalities of Guangdong Province unified up the minimum wage, the adjustment is still maintained in the four categories of standards, with an average increase of 19.1 percent.

23 provinces and municipalities to increase the minimum wage Shanghai led the second in Guangdong

Province of Shenzhen, the highest, up to 1,600 yuan / month

Since 2008, the national minimum wage standard annual average increase of 12.6%. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 24 provinces across the country adjusted their minimum wage standards in 2011, with an average increase of 22 percent; 25 provinces adjusted their minimum wage standards in 2012, with an average increase of 20.2 percent.

Comparison of hourly wages in provinces

From Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, which adjusted the standard separately, raised it to 1,600 yuan a month on March 1, leading the province, while other cities across the province raised their minimum wages uniformly from May 1, with the highest in Guangzhou at 1,550 yuan a month.

Beijing, Xinjiang, the highest hourly wage standard

With the September 1, Hubei Province raised the minimum wage, so this year, the country has Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Beijing, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Liaoning, Ningxia, Jilin, Yunnan, Anhui, Fujian, Hubei, the 23 regions raised the minimum wage standard.

Shanghai led the nation with 1,620 yuan per month, followed by Guangdong with 1,550 yuan per month (a class of areas), and Guizhou with the lowest at 1,030 yuan per month. And the highest hourly rates were in Beijing and Xinjiang, both at 15.2 yuan.

According to the Minimum Wage Regulations of China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the monthly minimum wage standard should be determined and adjusted with reference to the minimum cost of living for locally employed people and their dependents, the consumer price index for urban residents, the social insurance premiums and housing provident funds paid by individual employees, the average wage of employees, the level of economic development, the employment situation and other factors. The minimum wage is adjusted at least once every two years.

At a national human resources and social security work conference held at the end of 2012, Yin Weimin, minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that the national minimum wage standard has increased by an average of 12.6 percent annually since 2008. That range has increased in recent years, with 24 provinces across the country adjusting their minimum wage standards in 2011, with an average increase of 22 percent, and 25 provinces adjusting their minimum wage standards in 2012, with an average increase of 20.2 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Guangdong highest 1600 yuan/month, lowest 1010 yuan/month

Since March 1, Shenzhen took the lead in adjusting the minimum wage standard upward, from 1500 yuan/month to 1600 yuan/month, and the hourly minimum wage standard for part-time employed workers: 14.5 yuan/hour. At present, this standard is higher than Beijing and Guangzhou, and lower than Shanghai.

May 1, Guangdong Province, other cities and municipalities unified upward adjustment of the minimum wage standard, the adjustment still maintains the standard of four categories, an average increase of 19.1%. The first category of areas is Guangzhou City, an increase of 19.2%, after the adjustment of the monthly minimum wage of 1,550 yuan, the hourly wage of 15 yuan. The second category of areas including Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan four cities, an increase of 19.1%, the adjusted monthly minimum wage standard of 1310 yuan, the hourly wage of 12.5 yuan. The third category of areas, in addition to the original three cities of Shantou, Huizhou and Jiangmen, added Zhaoqing, an increase of 19%, with an adjusted monthly minimum wage of RMB 1,130 yuan and an hourly wage of RMB 11.1 yuan. The fourth category includes the remaining 11 cities of Shaoguan, Heyuan, Meizhou, Shanwei, Yangjiang, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, Jieyang and Yunfu, raised by 19 percent, with an adjusted monthly minimum wage of 1,010 yuan and an hourly wage of 10 yuan.

The last time Guangdong raised the minimum wage was on March 1, 2011, when the standard was raised to 1,300 yuan per month in one type of area and 1,100 yuan per month in two types of areas.