The average salary across all industries nationwide grew by 12.34 percent last year, and is expected to increase by 12.6 percent in 2011, a record high in the last decade, according to Salary Report 2011 released by Adfaith Management Consulting Wednesday in Beijing.

The report's findings are based on a 2.5-month survey that started in October 2010. A total of 1,551 human resource executives across the country responded with last year's actual salary growth and projected growth rate for 2011. The companies surveyed include Foxconn Technology, the world's largest electronic manufacturer IBM, automaker Guangqi Honda Automobile and home appliance producer Haier Group.

Last year, private companies rank top among all type of companies with 13.12 percent average salary growth, compared with 10.5 percent in foreign-invested companies and 10.33 percent in State-owned enterprises (SOEs), the report said.

"The salary gap between private companies and SOEs is narrowing," said Yu Liwen, an Adfaith senior consultant without providing detailed salary figures.

The average annual salary for private company staff was 18,199 yuan ($2,770) in 2009, only half of the average salary of an SOE employee, according to All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce.

In 2010, automobile manufacturing workers had 14.31 percent salary growth – a higher rate than those in other industries in 2010, according to Adfaith report.

But this year, the real estate sector is projected to take the lead with 14.1 percent salary growth. There could be changes as the survey was conducted before the government moved to cool the market in January, Adfaith's Yu said.

Large companies with employees over 10,000 had 13.75 percent salary growth under pressure from a labor shortage last year. This year however, it's the smaller companies with 500 staff or less that have budgeted 13.4 percent growth in salary, according to the report.

"The smaller companies didn't raise salaries as much as their larger counterparts, so they'll need to catch up this year," Yu said.