Poor residents in China's capital Beijing have more money to help them withstand price hikes as the local government has raised the subsidy standard for them beginning Thursday.

The minimum wage for employees was newly set at 3.26 yuan per hour and 545 yuan per month, up from former 2.96 yuan and 495 yuan respectively. One US dollar is equal to about 8.3 yuan, said an official from the local government.

Unemployment insurance will increase to a sum ranging from 347 to 446 yuan from previous 326 to 419 yuan.

Pensions for the retired and the injured will also be increased accordingly. The minimum living allowance for poor families will still be 290 yuan per capita on average, but the distributing policies will be improved to help the most needy get the most.

The financial sector, social security fund and companies related will jointly foot the bill for the subsidy increase, said the official.

The official noted that in the first half of this year, the prices of food increased by a large margin, bringing up per capita expenditure for residents by 13.92 yuan per month. The local government also plans to increase the price of water, electricity and medical care, which will also bring up per capita expenditure by 19 yuan per month. The price of a bus pass will also increase in the future, equaling monthly expenditure increase of 31 yuan. "The price increase will affect the living standard of the very poor," said the official.

In the meantime, the official said the economic development in the city made the subsidy increase possible. Statistics shows thatin 2003, gross domestic product increased by 10.7 percent and the average salary for employees increased by 16 percent in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua