As the Chinese economy continues to recover from the long pandemic (and post-pandemic) slowdown, wages in many industries remain stagnant, and economic- and job-related insecurity runs high. This is particularly true for workers who occupy a more precarious position in the economic structure: migrant workers, temporary workers, and hourly-wage workers. A recent report by Yang Shengli, Liu Jinpan, and Wang Haiyan of Hebei University’s School of Economics forecast that unemployment among China’s migrant workers will peak in 2027, which could have enormous implications for labor unrest, social stability, population movement, and economic well-being in China.
At the same time, China is experiencing both deflationary and inflationary pressures, albeit in different areas of the consumer economy. The recent online popularity of the term “winner-take-all” (通杀, tōngshā) illustrates the effects of both inflation and deflation on working-class pocketbooks. The term was originally used to describe games of chance in which the banker, house, or a single player executes a “massacre” of all the other players, i.e. impoverishing all of the other players by taking their money. More recently, it has been used to describe a situation in which prices for food and other essentials are rising, while the prices of luxury goods and services—far beyond the reach of working-class or middle-class workers anyway—are falling. The rich are reaping the benefits of deflation and getting richer, while the poor are grappling with inflation for essential goods (including utilities) and getting poorer.
“My Hourly Wage,” a recent photo essay from Chinese-language media outlet Why Not (歪脑, wāinǎo), illustrates this phenomenon in vivid detail by juxtaposing photos of various people in their work environments with details on their hourly wage and an illustration of the purchasing power of that hourly wage. For each job, the occupational hazards are also listed: among these are long periods spent outside, excessive overtime, exposure to dangerous chemicals or particulates, and the risk of traffic accidents:
Foundry Worker
Occupational hazards: thermal radiation, harmful gases, particulate inhalation, risk of burns, high-intensity physical labor
Hourly wage: 25 yuan ($3.46 U.S. dollars) per hour, the cost of five kilograms of rice
Offshore fishery worker
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, high-intensity physical labor, overtime work, high humidity, risk of falling into the sea
Hourly wage: 9 yuan ($1.25), the cost of a pair of padded insoles
Tofu-maker
Occupational hazards: high humidity environment, risk of burns
Hourly wage: 12 yuan ($1.67), the cost of 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs) of free-range eggs
Exterior wall cleaner for residential buildings
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, risk of falling, particulate inhalation, overtime work
Hourly wage: 32 yuan ($4.43), the cost of 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of pork ribs
Metal grinder
Occupational hazards: particulate inhalation, toxic gas inhalation, risk of falling, exposure to thermal radiation, risk of electrocution
Hourly wage: 28 yuan ($3.87), the cost of three bundles of egg noodles
Trolley-puller
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, high-intensity physical labor, risk of traffic accidents
Hourly wage: 12 yuan ($1.66), the cost of eight sanitary pads
Painter
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, risk of falling, toxic gas inhalation, dust inhalation, overtime work
Hourly wage: 40 yuan ($5.54), the cost of one box of 24 sustained-release pain-relief capsules
Street vendor
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors
Hourly wage: 5 yuan ($.70), cost of a jianbing (savory crepe)
Courier
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, overtime work, risk of traffic accidents
Hourly wage: 15 yuan ($2.08), the cost of five packets of instant noodles
Porter
Occupational hazards: long hours outdoors, high-intensity physical labor, risk of traffic accidents
Hourly wage: 9.5 yuan ($1.31), the cost of one bottle of Laoganma-brand chili-oil beancurd
Sanitation worker
Occupational hazards: long periods outdoors, long periods of walking, risk of traffic accidents, particulate inhalation, overtime work
Hourly wage: 10 yuan ($1.38), the cost of a pack of 10 individually-packaged N95 masks
Brick recycler
Occupational hazards: long periods outdoors, high-intensity physical labor, particulate inhalation, overtime work
Hourly wage: 18 yuan ($2.49), the cost of six packets of laundry soap
Motorcycle-taxi driver
Occupational hazards: long periods outdoors, risk of traffic accidents
Hourly wage: 15 yuan ($2.08), the cost of five packets of moisturizing balm
Security guard
Occupational hazards: overtime work, long periods outdoors
Hourly wage: 13 yuan ($1.80), the cost of 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) of assorted fresh vegetables
[Chinese]
