CHINA'S 163 million migrant workers saw a slower rise of 11.8 percent in their wages last year as economic growth eased and demand for labor weakened, a National Statistics Bureau survey showed yesterday.

The average monthly wage of migrant workers employed in towns and cities grew to 2,290 yuan (US$374) last year from 2011, the bureau said.

The growth slowed sharply from the 21.2 percent surge in 2011.

Last year, the number of migrant workers rose 3 percent, a slowdown from 2011's 3.4 percent growth, to 163.4 million, the survey showed.

"Wages for migrant workers in transport, warehousing, postal services and construction are generally higher, while those in service sectors, hotel and catering, and manufacturing are lower," the survey said.

The proportion of migrant workers employed by the construction sector rose the most to 18.4 percent in 2012 from 17.7 percent in 2011, while that in manufacturing fell the most to 35.7 percent from 36 percent a year earlier.

The survey covered 200,000 migrant workers nationwide employed in non-agricultural jobs for more than six months.