Wage growth is stuck in a low gear as the tepid global recovery keeps a lid on pay -- and without China powering ahead things would be even worse.
Average monthly wages grew 2% in 2013, adjusted for inflation, according to a report released Thursday by the International Labour Office.
Most of that growth was driven by gains in developing countries. Take China out of the picture and the situation looks much worse. Without Chinese workers, global real wage growth shrinks to just 1.1%.
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The world's second largest economy saw supercharged wage growth of 7.3% last year. That's down slightly from 2012, but still ahead of most other countries. China is attempting to wean itself off of exports, and rising wages support its push to become a more consumer-led economy.
Wages in the developed world remained relatively flat as the recovery continued its slow burn. Workers in the United States saw wage growth of 0.3%.
You were more likely to get a raise if you worked in a resource-rich economy thanks to the commodities boom. Indonesia, Brazil and Australia all recorded solid wage growth.
Meanwhile, pay in Europe's beaten-down economies was stuck in reverse. Average real wages in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Greece remain below their 2007 levels. The stagnation or drop in wages aggravates existing problems of anemic growth and low inflation facing the eurozone.
And it's unlikely to change anytime soon -- the region's top three economies Germany, France and Italy are either flatlining or in mired in recession.
