China News Finance, January 20 (Gong Hongyu Zuo Yuqing) The National Bureau of Statistics recently released data showing that the income growth of rural residents on the mainland in 2021 will be significantly faster than that of urban residents. This is the 12th consecutive year that farmers' income growth rate has led urban residents.
Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China News Finance that increasing farmers' income is conducive to stimulating residents' consumption, and it is expected that this leading trend will continue in the future.
The rise in the wages of migrant workers has led to an increase in peasants' income
The data shows that in 2021, the per capita disposable income of rural residents will be 18931 yuan, a nominal increase of 10.5%, deducting price factors, the actual growth rate will be 9.7%; the per capita disposable income of urban residents will be 47412 yuan, a nominal increase of 8.2%, and the real growth will be 7.1% after deducting price factors.
The nominal and real growth rates of per capita disposable income of rural residents were 2.3 and 2.6 percentage points faster than those of urban residents, respectively. The income ratio of urban and rural residents narrowed from 2.56 in the previous year to 2.50, and the relative income gap between urban and rural residents continued to narrow.
"In recent years, the recruitment demand for migrant workers has been large, and the wages are relatively high, which is very beneficial to the increase of farmers' income." Talking about the reasons for increasing farmers' income, Li Guoxiang said in an interview with China News Finance that the rise in wages of migrant workers has become the main support for farmers' income.
Fang Xiaodan, director of the Household Survey Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that in 2021, the per capita wage income of rural residents increased by 14.1%, and the average growth rate of 9.9% in two years. According to the national migrant worker monitoring survey, the total number of migrant workers in the country will reach 292.51 million in 2021, and the scale has exceeded the level of 2019. The sustained development of the county economy has promoted the increase in local migrant workers' opportunities, and local migrant workers have increased by 3.7% compared with 2019. In 2021, the average monthly income of migrant workers was 4432 yuan, an average increase of 5.8% in two years, driving the steady growth of rural residents' wage income.
Net operating income also showed a recovery of growth. Fang Xiaodan said that in 2021, driven by favorable factors such as new high grain production, stable pig prices, and better prices of some agricultural and animal husbandry products, the per capita net operating income of rural residents increased by 8.0% throughout the year, 1.3 percentage points faster than the previous three quarters.
Data map: Migrant workers at a construction site. Photo by Sun Rui
Inject impetus into residents' consumption
In addition to reflecting the narrowing gap between urban and rural development, Li Guoxiang believes that increasing farmers' income plays an important role in stimulating residents' consumption.
"Compared with urban residents, the absolute value of peasants' incomes is not high. After the income increases, most of it will soon be converted into consumption, which is of very important positive significance for driving the mainland's domestic cycle and building a new development pattern. Li Guoxiang said.
The data shows that in 2021, residents' consumption expenditure will continue to recover. The per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents was 15,916 yuan, a nominal increase of 16.1%, and the actual growth rate was 15.3% after deducting price factors. The growth rate of per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents has recovered better than that of urban residents, and the nominal and actual growth rates are 3.9 and 4.2 percentage points faster than that of urban residents, respectively.
Infographic: Villagers buy fruit in a township street. Photo by Zhang Dan
The leading trend of increasing farmers' incomes will continue
The income growth of rural residents has been faster than that of urban residents for 12 consecutive years. In the past two years, the income ratio of urban and rural residents has shrunk more significantly than before. In this regard, Li Guoxiang analyzed that it is expected that the trend of increasing farmers' incomes higher than that of urban residents will continue in the next few years.
However, he said that due to the impact of the new crown epidemic and other factors, 2022 still faces many challenges. Some domestic and foreign institutions predict that the economic growth rate may slow down this year. In this case, the increase in the income of migrant workers will usher in more uncertainty.
"Therefore, in terms of policy, we must still put promoting peasants' income in an important position." Li Guoxiang said. (End)
Source: China News Network