China reported a 17.8 percent year-on-year growth in average wage for urban employees in the first quarter of this year, sources with the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.

In the January-March period, urban employees' pay averaged 5,516 yuan (US$716), up 17.8 percent from the same period of last year.

According to the bureau's sample survey of 59,000 urban households nationwide, urban residents' per-capita disposable income stood at 3,935 yuan (US$511) in the first quarter, up 19.5 percent, or 16.6 percent in real term.

The urbanites' spending on consumption averaged 2,620 yuan (US$340) per-capita, up 16.7 percent, or 13.9 percent in real term.

In a related development, the cash income of rural dwellers went up 15.2 percent, or 12.1 percent in real term, to 1,260 yuan (US$164) in the three-month period.

The real-term growth in urbanites' income was 5.8 percentage points higher year-on-year, while farmers' income grew 0.6 percentage points quicker.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2007)