Guangdong raises minimum wage by 19%

Guangdong province has announced that it will raise its average minimum wage by 19 percent from May.

The provincial capital of Guangzhou will see a minimum monthly pay rise from 1,300 yuan ($208) to 1,550 yuan.

Guangzhou's minimum hourly pay will rise from 12.5 yuan to 15 yuan starting from May.

Guangdong's Shenzhen announced on Wednesday that the city's minimum wage will be raised to 1,600 yuan a month. That will make the city's minimum wage the highest among all cities around the country.

This year, provinces and municipalities such as Beijing, Zhejiang and Shaanxi raised their minimum wages in January.

Beijing increased the monthly minimum wage from 1,260 yuan to 1,400 yuan. Shaanxi raised the standard from 1,000 yuan to 1,150 yuan and Zhejiang from 1,310 yuan to 1,470 yuan.

Twenty-three provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Shandong raised their minimum wages in 2012, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Local governments are required to raise their minimum wages at least once every two years.

China as a whole aims to increase the nationwide minimum monthly wage by 13 percent annually before 2015, according to a central government plan announced in 2012.