Disposable income rises

According to the National Bureau of Statistics survey office in Beijing, average disposable income for Beijing's urban residents from January to Octo-ber reached 33,208 yuan ($5451), a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent. For Beijing's rural residents, the figure was 18,004 yuan, an annual increase of 11.1 percent, the Beijing Daily reported.

Disposable income refers to per capita income minus personal income tax and contributions to social insurance.

In Beijing, family services, travel and education are now the fastest-growing areas of consumer expendi-ture. From January to October, the average per capita expenditure of urban residents was 21,643 yuan, an increase of 9.2% from the same period last year. From January to October, retail sales of consumer goods totaled 681.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent.