China reported a 17.8 percent year-on-year growth in average wage for urban employees in the first quarter of this year, National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.

In the January-March period, urban employees' pay averaged 5,516 yuan (716 U.S.dollars), up 17.8 percent from the same period of last year.

According to the bureau's sample survey of 59,000 urban households nationwide, urban residents' per-capita disposable income stood at 3,935 yuan (511 U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, up 19.5 percent, or 16.6 percent in real term.

The urbanites' spending on consumption averaged 2,620 yuan (340 U.S. dollars) per-capita, up 16.7 percent, or 13.9 percent in real term.

In a related development, the cash income of rural dwellers went up 15.2 percent, or 12.1 percent in real term, to 1,260 yuan (164 U.S. dollars) in the three-month period.

The real-term growth in urbanites' income was 5.8 percentage points higher year-on-year, while farmers' income grew 0.6 percentage points quicker.