BRIEF: Hong Kong workers see pay rise of 8 per cent in summer 

BRIEF: Hong Kong workers see pay rise of 8 per cent in summer

HONG KONG, Sep 26, 2011 (Menafn - dpa - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Hong Kong workers saw their pay increase by 8 per cent in June compared to the same month last year, official figures released Monday claimed.

However, high inflation in the city of 7.1 million meant in real terms the rise was only 2 per cent.

About 73 per cent of companies reported an increase in average wage rates compared to June 2010, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Twenty-four per cent recorded a decrease in average wage rates over the same period, while the remaining 3 per cent said there had been virtually no change in the average wage rates.

A government spokesman said the rise occurred across the board, but was more visible among lower paid workers, suggesting the implementation of a minimum wage of 28 Hong Kong dollars an hour (3.6 US dollars) in May which brought pay increases to more than 300,000 workers had some impact.

Inflation is rising at its fastest rate since 1995, according to government data, with prices up 7.9 per cent year-on-year in August.

___ (c)2011 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) Visit Deutsche
Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html
Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright (C) 2011, dpa, Berlin