4 places will adjust the minimum wage standard, and 12 provinces may increase it within the year

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Alimire

Entering 2024, many provinces have adjusted the minimum wage standard, and many people's money bags have ushered in "inflated" opportunities.

Judging from the adjustment, the provinces that have announced an increase in the minimum wage standard this year are Henan, Liaoning, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. It is worth noting that after this adjustment, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have become the only two provinces in the country where the monthly minimum wage standard of the third tier exceeds 2,000 yuan.

According to the data of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, as of October 1, 2023, among the provinces that implement the third and fourth levels of minimum wage standards in the country, there is no province with a monthly minimum wage standard of more than 2,000 yuan in the third level. This round of adjustment in Jiangsu and Zhejiang not only means that the level of social security has been improved accordingly, which is conducive to the general benefit of workers, but also a positive signal for the steady economic growth of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Specifically, the minimum monthly wage standard in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces is 2,490 yuan for the first tranche, 2,260 yuan for the second tranche, and 2,010 yuan for the third tranche. At present, the minimum wage standard of the two provinces temporarily ranks second in the country, second only to Shanghai's 2,690 yuan.

Compared with the adjustment in 2021, the first, second and third wages in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will increase by 210 yuan, 190 yuan and 170 yuan respectively, and the minimum monthly wage standard will be increased by about 9%.

Source: Picture Worm Creative

In addition, Henan also announced an adjustment to the minimum wage standard in January. Specifically, the first, second and third wage standards in Henan were adjusted to 2,100 yuan, 2,000 yuan, and 1,800 yuan, an increase of 100 yuan, 200 yuan, and 200 yuan respectively compared with the adjustment in 2022.

Although Liaoning has not yet implemented the new minimum wage standard, it also announced the adjustment in January. According to the Liaoning Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the province will implement the latest minimum wage standard from May 1, 2024, with the monthly minimum wage standard of 2,100 yuan for the first tier, 1,900 yuan for the second tier, and 1,700 yuan for the third tier. Compared with the previous standard, after the adjustment in 2024, various standards will be raised by 190-280 yuan.

Times Finance statistics found that so far in 2023, 19 provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shanghai, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hubei, have raised their minimum wage standards.

Judging from the current minimum wage standards in 31 provinces, at present, there are 19 regions with a monthly minimum wage standard of more than 2,000 yuan. Among them, Shanghai's monthly minimum wage ranks first in the country, at 2,690 yuan. From the perspective of the hourly minimum wage standard, Beijing has the highest standard of 26.4 yuan in the country.

The minimum wage standard refers to the minimum labor remuneration that the employer shall pay to the employee during the statutory working hours or the working hours agreed in the labor contract signed in accordance with the law, provided that the employee provides normal work. According to the Minimum Wage Regulations, the minimum wage standard is adjusted at least once every two years.

If the biennial adjustment is used as the standard, including Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Chongqing, Sichuan, Ningxia and Xinjiang, these 12 provinces may usher in a minimum wage adjustment in 2024.

Judging from the extent of the adjustment, many people believe that the increase in the minimum wage standard will have little impact on their real income. However, in fact, the adjustment of the minimum wage standard is conducive to the adjustment of the distribution structure and has a substantial impact on the interests of workers, especially the low-income group.

Many regions stipulate that, for example, the salary of an employee during the probationary period shall not be lower than the minimum wage standard of the place where the employer is located. In terms of other guarantees, enterprises will also refer to the minimum wage standard when calculating employees' wages during the probationary period, overtime pay, medical period wages, wages for work and production stoppage, social security payment base, unemployment insurance premiums, and economic compensation.

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Wang Jun, chief economist of Huatai Assets, told Times Finance that for enterprises, the direct impact of raising the monthly minimum wage standard is the increase in labor costs and the compression of profit margins. But in the long run, the benefits for businesses and governments are clear.

"Low-income groups have a higher marginal propensity to consume, and increasing their income will bring about a significant increase in consumption levels, which will help indirectly stimulate aggregate demand, invigorate the market for goods and services, and then improve business conditions and increase government tax revenues. Wang Jun said.

In fact, in recent years, while the economy has continued to grow at a high speed, various localities have also been continuously optimizing the income distribution structure, ensuring and improving people's livelihood, and allowing workers to enjoy the fruits of economic development.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide will be 39,218 yuan, an increase of 6.1% in real terms. From the perspective of growth rate, the growth rate of national residents' income "outperforms" the GDP growth rate, which means that the "gold content" of economic growth is improving, and the profits and employment situation of enterprises are better.

However, there is still a certain gap between the total income of urban and rural residents, and the difference between the two is more than 30,000 yuan. This also shows that how to simultaneously raise the income level, narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas, and promote balanced economic and social development is an important issue that cannot be ignored.

In this regard, Liu Xiangdong, deputy director of the macroeconomic research department of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told Times Finance that in addition to increasing the income level of residents year-on-year, it is necessary to create more opportunities and channels to support residents to increase operating income and property income, and at the same time make good use of transfer payment tools to continue to narrow the income gap of residents.

In the short term, Wang Jun believes that it is possible to appropriately favor the financial arrangements for residents, especially low-income people, the elderly in rural areas, and elderly retirees in urban areas. To this end, we can create a set of new models and policy systems to support the increase of residents' income and expand consumption from the top-level design, and greatly increase the fiscal budget for raising residents' income and expanding consumption.

"Specifically, we can try to issue a certain scale of special bonds every year, and create an innovative tool for the central government to directly subsidize consumption and directly reach the residential sector. For example, direct cash subsidies are used to promote and expand consumption, especially in the areas of housing, medical care, education, pension and other public services for low- and middle-income groups, so as to increase the equalization of basic public services and narrow the income gap. Wang Jun said.