Xiao Mei, a kindergarten teaching assistant living in the suburbs of Hangzhou in eastern China, has barely seen her income rise for three years and is not optimistic about her chances of getting a pay rise any time soon. Still, she counts herself as relatively fortunate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least I haven\u2019t had my pay cut or lost my job,\u201d she said, adding that several of her friends had suffered such setbacks recently.<\/p>\n
Earning around 6,000 yuan (US$845) a month \u2013 well below the local average of 13,500 yuan for public-sector workers, according to municipal government figures \u2013 the 38-year-old feels stuck in a low-income cohort and uncertain about her future prospects as China\u2019s job market remains stubbornly sluggish.<\/p>\n
Xiao\u2019s plight reflects the scale of the challenge facing China as it embarks on an ambitious drive to nearly double the size of its middle-income population over the next decade.<\/p>\n
According to the government\u2019s most recent estimate, more than 400 million of China\u2019s 1.4 billion people are currently living on a middle income. At a press conference last month, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao projected the figure would rise to 800 million in the next 10 years.<\/p>\n