Seventy percent of people in Shanghai middle-income earners

Middle-income earners predominate in Shanghai, with seven out of 10 residents earning an annual income of more than 50,000 yuan ($7,440) last year, Shanghai-based Laodong Daily reported on Wednesday.

The latest report from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences shows that an olive-shaped income distribution structure is taking shape, with 55.9 percent of residents earning annual incomes of between 51,000 and 100,000 yuan.

In terms of household incomes, 61.5 percent of all households report an annual income of between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan.

The report also found that women’s income lags behind men’s, with 54.8 percent of men in Shanghai earning more than 100,000 yuan annually, compared with just 26.9 percent of women.

Another significant income gap exists between people with different educational backgrounds, with 21.5 percent of workers who received higher education earning more than 100,000 yuan annually, but only 2.5 percent of those without a college education earning the same amount.

Gu Jingwen contributed to this story.