Recently, there have been reports of salary cuts for government officials in Zhejiang Province, sparking societal concerns. According to various sources, the annual income of general government officials has decreased by 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, while officials at department level and above have seen cuts exceeding 100,000 yuan. At the same time, similar adjustments have been reported in Shandong, Guangdong, and other regions, reflecting a general contraction in government officials’ salary systems amid financial strain faced by local governments.
The reduction of communist party government officials’ salaries started in Zhejiang this year. According to a relative of a Zhejiang government official, Yao Lin (pseudonym) revealed that since 2025, local government official salaries have been cut again: “My relative is an ordinary staff member, and this year their salary has been reduced by another 50,000 to 60,000 yuan. Department-level officials have had even more significant reductions in annual income, even though the units still cover social insurance and medical insurance, the overall burden has noticeably increased.”
A retiring government official in Hangzhou, Mr. Xue, expressed that he had hoped to delay his retirement to increase his pension, but instead, his income decreased: “Three years ago, I did not retire, thinking that waiting for two more years would allow me to receive more. Now, my take-home salary has been reduced, and my estimated pension has dropped from six to seven thousand to just over four thousand.”
The 2024 budget draft released by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance stated that the revenue from state-owned land use rights transfers in 2023 decreased by about a quarter from the previous year, leading to simultaneous compressions in related financial expenditures. This is seen as an important background to the current round of salary reductions for government officials.
In addition to Zhejiang, there have been reports of salary reductions in Shandong, Guangdong, and other areas. Ms. Zhang from Weifang City in Shandong mentioned that some county and city government officials have been receiving reduced salaries since last year, with only 70 to 80 percent of their wages being paid. “Some units have even canceled transportation subsidies, leaving only basic wages, and many people are only receiving three to four thousand yuan, creating significant life pressures,” she said.
A mid-level manager in a state-owned bank in Guangdong also disclosed that the unit has reduced salaries for two consecutive years, with a total reduction of nearly 30%. Additionally, a lawyer closely related to the public security system stated that in some cases, the annual salary of police officers in Guangdong has decreased from 300,000 yuan to around 200,000 yuan, while the monthly wages of ordinary grassroots government officials have fallen to around 3,000 yuan.
However, despite these salary cuts, the overall income within the system still remains higher than the social average. For example, a graduate with two years of work experience working as a chief staff member in Yiwu City receives a monthly take-home salary of about 11,500 yuan, additional benefits such as housing provident fund, year-end bonuses, and performance bonuses, keeping their annual income at an above-average level within the government system.
Regarding fiscal data, the “Quarterly Fiscal Budget Implementation Report for 2025” released by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance in May showed that general public budget revenue increased by only 0.2% year-on-year, with tax revenue decreasing by 0.3%, while non-tax revenue increased by 1.8%. The report indicated that the growth in non-tax revenue mainly came from fines and other items, with some revenue being retained by grassroots governments to enhance local financial capabilities.
Some analysts believe that the current salary cuts for government officials are not isolated measures but rather a reflection of adjustments in local fiscal models. Mr. Hong, a veteran media personality from Zhejiang, told reporters, “In the past, local finances overly relied on land transfers and central transfers, so once the real estate market slowed down, local governments had to cut down on administrative expenses.”
Mr. Li, a scholar from Guangdong, also pointed out that salary adjustments for government officials have already been rolled out nationwide: “The central government has long advocated for ‘tightening belts,’ and now it is being implemented at the local level.” He believes that behind the compression of administrative costs lies a deep warning about the unsustainability of traditional fiscal models.
Observers have highlighted that salary cuts for government officials are becoming a barometer for local fiscal adjustments and are exacerbating the anxiety among grassroots government officials. As policies continue to progress, the long-term impact on the stability of the government workforce and administrative efficiency remains a point of ongoing concern.