Chinese migrant workers exceed 260 mln by 2012

China had 262.61 million migrant workers by the end of 2012, up 3.9 percent year on year, according to the latest official data released Monday.

A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 163.36 million migrant workers sought jobs away from home lasting at least six months, marking a year-on-year increase of 3 percent. Most of these workers were from less-developed central and western regions.

The per capita monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2,290 yuan (370.48 U.S. dollars) by the end of 2012. It rose 11.8 percent from the previous year, but the growth was 9.4 percentage points lower than that of 2011, said the NBS.

The transportation and construction sectors offered higher salaries, while migrant workers with jobs in the service, catering and manufacturing sectors earned less, according to the report.

The average age of Chinese migrant workers stood at 37.3 in 2012, and male workers made up 66.4 percent of the total, the NBS said.

The survey covered about 200,000 rural laborers in over 7,500 villages around the country, said the NBS.