The results came from an online salary poll conducted by the Beijing-based Website (ChinaHR.com) among 5,535 locals - 95 percent of whom were aged between 20 and 35 years and more than 80 percent had a college or higher education - from January to July.

Simultaneous surveys conducted among 27,600 people in 21 other big cities, including Beijing, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.

"The salaries kept shrinking because of fewer job offers this year," ex-plained Shirley Lu, a spokes-woman for the Website.

In Shanghai, the average annual salary of office workers dropped to 48,757 yuan (US$5,874) in the first half of this year, 1,027 yuan less than last year. However, Shanghai's annual pay still ranked No. 2 among major cities, following Shenzhen's 49,038 yuan.

According to the Website, the average annual salary in the telecommunications sector ranked highest in Shanghai with 63,086 yuan, followed by consultancy at 51,889 yuan, and fast consumable production trade, including food, drink and tobacco, at 51,507 yuan.

A notable change was seen in wages offered by the Internet and e-business sector, which dropped abruptly from third place last year to No. 9 at 38,018 yuan average now, said Lu.

Surprisingly, various master graduates earned 66,000 yuan a year, 4,000 yuan more than Ph.D.s. "High education may be an asset for employment, but personal ability and performance counts for more," said David Min, Human Resources Director of ChipPAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.

For instance, locals who are proficient in foreign language can earn 53,378 yuan a year, 22,167 yuan more than others.

(eastday.com September 23, 2002)