Housekeeping business database lays out ayi earnings in the city

Hiring an ayi in Shanghai is often more expensive than in southern boom cities Guangzhou and Shenzhen, according to a report by a housekeeping business database and booking platform.

However, in some areas of domestic service, employers in Guangdong Province cities must pay more than those in Shanghai, found Shanghai-based Yunjiazheng — which means Cloud Housekeeping.

Yunjiazheng based its findings on records of 120,000 domestic helpers from 1,000 companies in the three cities registered on its website.

Most of the ayi — Chinese for auntie — are middle aged women, the research found.

The average wage for a live-in ayi in Shanghai is 3,620 yuan (US$590) per month, while in Guangzhou and Shenzhen it's 3,165 and 3,304, respectively, said the report. In those cities, 99 percent of ayi charge less than 4,000 yuan a month, while 69 percent in Shanghai do so.

Ayi who live in their own homes charge 3,204 yuan per month on average in Shanghai, in comparison with 2,488 yuan in Guangzhou and 3,034 yuan in Shenzhen.

For ayi who charge by the hour, 30 yuan per hour is the going rate in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rising to 35 yuan per hour with some companies in Guangzhou.

Ayi taking care of new mothers and their babies — yuesao in Chinese — are most expensive. In Shanghai they earn 6,837 yuan a month on average, compared to 6,176 yuan in Shenzhen but 7,162 yuan per month in Guangzhou.

Those caring for children aged from 3 months old to 6 years earned an average of 4,369 yuan a month in Shanghai, while ayi caring for seniors make on average 3,208 a month in the city.