BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China's average per capita disposable income grew 8.8 percent year on year to 12,932 yuan (about 1,913 U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, data showed Monday.
Deducting inflation, the growth was 7.3 percent, exceeding the country's GDP growth of 6.9 percent for January-June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Strong income growth and lifestyle changes in past years have helped boost China's consumer spending amid the government's efforts to shift the economy toward a growth model that draws strength from consumption, the service sector and innovation.
NBS data showed the income gap between China's urban and rural residents continued to narrow, with the real growth of per capita disposable income in rural areas 0.9 percentage point higher than that in urban regions.
The average rural residents' per capita disposable income reached 6,562 yuan in the first half, up 7.4 percent after deducting price factors, while that of urban residents increased 6.5 percent to 18,322 yuan.
More migrant workers were leaving their hometowns in the first six months, according to NBS data.
Some 178.73 million rural laborers were working outside their hometowns as of the end of June, up 2.1 percent compared with one year earlier. Their average monthly income grew 6.3 percent to 3,405 yuan in the second quarter.
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