Chinese companies could give an average pay rise of 8.8 percent next year, according to a survey released by 51job.com, country's leading jobs website.
The survey found that some 17.3 percent of the surveyed companies plan to increase pay for their staff at least once next year, a slight dip compared with the figure in 2013.
It added that 74.9 percent chose to increase pay only once in 2014.
According to China Daily, the financial industry will lead other industries with a 10.4-percent pay rise in the year, followed by the real-estate, high-technology and bio-pharmaceutical industries.
The survey found that salaries of companies based in the country's first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai will increase by 8.6 percent year-on-year, and those in other cities will see a 9-percent rise, the report added.