The income gap between urban and rural areas in China continued to widen last year as the economic slowdown left millions of migrant workers jobless, Chinese media reported Friday.

The average city dweller's income in 2008 was 3.36 times larger than that of someone living in the countryside, the China Business News reported, citing an agriculture ministry report.

The gap is wider than the 3.33 recorded in 2007, which Agricultural Minister Sun Zhengcai had described as the worst since China's economic reforms began in 1978.

The average income of both rural and urban residents rose, but the growth in city dwellers' earning power outpaced that of those living in the countryside, the report said.

The income gap affects up to 800 million Chinese considered as living in the countryside.

The document attributed the widening income gap partially to the economic slowdown, which forced large numbers of migrant workers to return to the countryside due to a shortage of jobs in cities.

The agriculture ministry is "far from optimistic" about the job market for migrant workers in the first half, the report said, adding the unemployment rate for migrant workers would likely rise in the next few months.

With China's export-dependent economy hit by the global slowdown, Chinese officials have estimated about 10 million migrant workers lost their jobs due to factory closure and layoffs.

China's leaders have stated that increasing equality in society is a priority. Rural-urban disparities are a particular concern, as there are fears they could lead to social unrest.

Despite policies such as eliminating the agricultural tax, the income gap between urban and rural areas has steadily grown over the past 30 years, according to official figures.

In 2000, the average urban income was 2.79 times larger than the average rural income, up from a post-reform low of 1.71 in 1984.

China's economy grew by nine percent in the third quarter of last year, the lowest level of growth since mid-2003. The rate could slow to 7.5 percent, a level not seen since 1990, according to the World Bank.

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