There's been a rather sudden slow-down in income growth, after adjustments for inflation, in the first quarter of the year.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show per capita disposal income for urban residents standing at 4,386 yuan for the first 3 months of 2007. That's 11-and-a-half percent higher than a year earlier in nominal terms.

But, if you factor in the effect of price rises, this means that incomes grew just 3.4 percent from a year earlier. That spells a significant dip from a real growth of 12.2 percent for all of 2007. The figures is also considerably less than the 16.6 percent recorded for first-quarter growth between 2006 to 07.

One factor is consumer inflation, which is currently running at a near 12-year high, driven mainly by soaring food prices. The CPI rose as much as 8 percent in the first quarter in 2008, from the same period a year before. That's compared to a just 2.7 percent rise for the first quarter of 2007.
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