The Chinese government is keenly sensitive to the tide of unemployment, which could foment social unrest. But what those placing their hopes on the Chinese consumer market should also care about is whether wages grow or stagnate. That will play an important role in Beijing's efforts to stimulate domestic consumption to offset the global demand slump.

"We're all fixated on unemployment. One thing that everyone underestimates is the damage to spending done by wage growth slowing," says CLSA economist Eric Fishwick. "If you're only focusing on people losing their jobs, you're only catching the tip of the iceberg above water."

Government workers' pay is still growing, but not as fast as before, and from a low base. China posted a slowdown in urban workers' pay growth to 13.4% growth in the first quarter of 2009, compared with 18.3% during the same time last year, based on figures from the National Bureau of Statistics last week. (The government said that its figures do not cover wages for private companies and self-employed, and are calculated before tax and include pension, medical insurance and housing).

The fall in the growth of workers' take-home pay could even steeper, as companies cut back on overtime pay, a big source of income for urban workers, Fishwick said.

While Chinese consumers do save more than Westerners because of the country's flimsy social safety net, "the biggest reason underlying the lagging household consumption growth is lagging household income growth, especially wage income," UBS economist Tao Wang wrote in a report Monday. China's growth has been capital-intensive and exports-led. And corporate earnings, particularly from the state-owned industrial sector, have been funneled back into fixed asset investment, rather than distributed to labor, she said.

That investment, plus the government's price controls on inputs like resources, made capital cheap, leading to a boom in the production of goods that fed Western demand. Now that Western demand has collapsed, stimulating domestic demand is a "medium-term challenge" as China's domestic consumption has traditionally lagged behind its growth, mostly because Chinese non-farm employment and wage growth, while fast, have lagged behind the country's overall growth based on investment and exports.

Government economists, too, are urging China to pay more attention to wage growth than to the headline-grabbing official 8% growth target.

"A more meaningful index to judge the sustainability of China's economic growth would be the proportion of wages to national income," Liu Shangxi, deputy dean of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science at the Ministry of Finance, told Xinhua in a Monday report. "If this ratio did not rise, people would remain poor, and thus expanding consumption would be empty talk."

Leaders have been taking note. Premier Wen Jiabao told the annual session of the National People's Congress in March that the government aimed to boost the proportion of national income that goes to wages, particularly for low-income urban and rural residents, according to state-owned Xinhua News Agency.

Still, stemming the loss of jobs is likely to be Beijing's near-term top priority.

zhongguozhengfuduishiyechaoxijiweimingan，yinweizhezhongqingxingkenengdaozhishehuidongdang。buguo，naxiejiwangyuzhongguoxiaofeizheshichangderenmenyeyingdangguanzhugaiguodegongzishifouzengchang
，haishitingzhibuqian。dangbeijingnulicijiguoneixuqiuyibuchangquanqiuxuqiuxiaotiaoshi，gongzizengchangyejiangqidaozhongyaodezuoyong。

“我們都在關注失業問題。但每個人都低估了一件事情，即由於工資增長緩慢而給消費行為帶來的損害”。裏昂證券經濟學家艾裏克·菲施維克認為。“如果隻關注人民的失業問題，那你隻不過抓住了冰山浮在水麵上的那一部分”。

政府工作人員的工資仍在增長，但速度遠不如前
，而且基礎薄弱。上周中國國家統計局發表了2009年一季度城市工人工資增長數據，該數字緩慢下滑至13.4%

，去年同期則是18.3%。（該政府表示，這個數字並不覆蓋民營企業和自由職業者的工資，而且統計依據為稅前工資，其中包含養老金
、醫療和住房津貼）

工人們稅後工資的增長率下跌可能更為陡峭，因為企業已經削減了加班工資，菲施維克認為，這是城市工人收入的一大來源。

而且
，由於這個國家輕薄的社會保障體係，因此中國的消費者們比西方人更喜歡儲蓄，“引起家庭消費增長停滯的最大原因是家庭收入增長的停滯，特別是工資收入”，瑞銀經濟學家王濤（音）周zhou一yi在zai一yi份fen報bao告gao中zhong寫xie道dao。中zhong國guo的de增zeng長chang是shi一yi種zhong資zi本ben集ji約yue和he出chu口kou導dao向xiang型xing的de增zeng長chang。企qi業ye

，尤you其qi是shi國guo有you工gong業ye企qi業ye的de盈ying利li都dou被bei集ji中zhong於yu固gu定ding資zi產chan投tou資zi
，而er不bu是shi分fen配pei給gei勞lao工gong，她ta表biao示shi。

投tou資zi行xing為wei加jia上shang政zheng府fu對dui資zi源yuan類lei價jia格ge的de管guan製zhi製zhi造zao了le廉lian價jia的de資zi本ben

，導dao致zhi維wei持chi西xi方fang需xu求qiu的de商shang品pin生sheng產chan走zou向xiang繁fan榮rong。如ru今jin西xi方fang的de需xu求qiu已yi經jing崩beng潰kui
，刺ci激ji國guo內nei需xu求qiu是shi一yi個ge“中期挑戰”，因yin為wei中zhong國guo的de國guo內nei消xiao費fei傳chuan統tong上shang落luo後hou於yu其qi經jing濟ji增zeng長chang。其qi中zhong主zhu要yao原yuan因yin是shi，中zhong國guo的de非fei農nong業ye就jiu業ye和he工gong資zi增zeng長chang雖sui然ran很hen快kuai，但dan落luo後hou於yu該gai國guo基ji於yu投tou資zi和he出chu口kou的de整zheng體ti增zeng長chang。

政府經濟學家們也敦促中國把更多注意力集中到工資增長上來，而不是用百分之八的官方增長目標吸引頭條。

“用來評判中國經濟增長可持續性的一個更有意義的指數是工資在國民收入中所占比例”，財政部財政科學研究所副所長劉賞希（音）在周一的一篇報道中對新華社表示。“如果這個比率沒有增長
，人民將依舊貧窮，這樣一來擴大消費就是一句空談”。

領ling袖xiu們men也ye在zai關guan注zhu這zhe個ge問wen題ti。據ju國guo營ying的de新xin華hua社she報bao道dao，今jin年nian三san月yue份fen的de國guo家jia人ren民min議yi會hui年nian度du會hui議yi上shang，溫wen家jia寶bao總zong理li曾zeng表biao示shi，政zheng府fu打da算suan增zeng加jia工gong資zi在zai國guo民min收shou入ru中zhong所suo占zhan的de比bi例li，特te別bie是shi針zhen對dui收shou入ru較jiao低di的de城cheng市shi和he鄉xiang村cun居ju民min。

盡管如此，阻止就業流失似乎是北京近期的首要大事。