Majority still feeling financial pressure
By Zhao Wen |
December 19, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE than half of urban residents in China feel under financial pressure, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The report said the top three causes were housing, the cost of living and children's education.
Respondents from 10 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan, were interviewed in October, and just 18.3 percent said they were under less economic stress compared to the year before.
Almost 57 percent of respondents, most of whom were middle-income earners or above, said their financial pressures began with housing, despite government efforts to cool the sector.
The basic costs of living were of more concern to lower-income earners.
In the first three quarters of this year, the actual income growth of urban residents was 9.8 percent.
It is predicted that the per-capita disposable income of urban residents would have increased by around 10 percent from 2011 by the end of this year, the report said.
It noted that 18 provinces across the country had increased minimum salary levels by September with an average adjustment of 19.4 percent.
The survey found that only 6.9 percent of urban families planned to increase household consumption in 2013.
More than 60 percent of the respondents said they would cut consumption to increase savings, compared to 52.4 percent in 2011.
Even though many families were able to save more in the past year, 42.6 percent of them said they still felt under financial pressure.
The report said a general sense of economic pressure was the key reason for people cutting consumption and saving more.
Urban residents' worries about pensions also showed a steady rise from 2007 to this year, the report said.
About 60 percent and 54.2 percent of respondents said they had worried about the cost of care when they were of pension age and whether there would be sufficient money to pay pensions in the future.
That compared to 39.6 percent and 38.9 percent in a 2006 survey.
The survey found that more elderly people were accepting they would be looked after by domestic helpers or by neighborhood committees rather than sons or daughters.
The report said the top three causes were housing, the cost of living and children's education.
Respondents from 10 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan, were interviewed in October, and just 18.3 percent said they were under less economic stress compared to the year before.
Almost 57 percent of respondents, most of whom were middle-income earners or above, said their financial pressures began with housing, despite government efforts to cool the sector.
The basic costs of living were of more concern to lower-income earners.
In the first three quarters of this year, the actual income growth of urban residents was 9.8 percent.
It is predicted that the per-capita disposable income of urban residents would have increased by around 10 percent from 2011 by the end of this year, the report said.
It noted that 18 provinces across the country had increased minimum salary levels by September with an average adjustment of 19.4 percent.
The survey found that only 6.9 percent of urban families planned to increase household consumption in 2013.
More than 60 percent of the respondents said they would cut consumption to increase savings, compared to 52.4 percent in 2011.
Even though many families were able to save more in the past year, 42.6 percent of them said they still felt under financial pressure.
The report said a general sense of economic pressure was the key reason for people cutting consumption and saving more.
Urban residents' worries about pensions also showed a steady rise from 2007 to this year, the report said.
About 60 percent and 54.2 percent of respondents said they had worried about the cost of care when they were of pension age and whether there would be sufficient money to pay pensions in the future.
That compared to 39.6 percent and 38.9 percent in a 2006 survey.
The survey found that more elderly people were accepting they would be looked after by domestic helpers or by neighborhood committees rather than sons or daughters.
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