(Yicai Global) Oct. 19 -- As the proportion of graduates working in China's manufacturing sector continue to fall, their average income is on the rise, and has been for the past five years, data from an industry research company shows.

The average monthly income of college graduates working in manufacturing increased from CNY3,337 (USD504) in 2012 to CNY4,249 in 2016, while those who graduated higher vocational schools or junior colleges saw their monthly salary rise from CNY2,708 to CNY3,633, on par with the average income of university graduates across all industries.

Electronics, electrical appliances and computer manufacturing attract the most graduates, with the chemical, plastics and machinery hardware industries the next most popular.

The proportion of China's university graduates working in manufacturing fell from 28.8 percent in 2012 to 19.4 percent in 2016, while the figure for graduates from high vocational schools and junior colleges dropped from 29.1 percent to 21.4 percent.

China's manufacturing industry continued to recover last year, with the purchasing managers' index hitting a new high of 51.7 in November, up 0.5 point from the month before thanks mostly due to a policy brought in to cut excess capacity and a development strategy to upgrade the sector.

The sector will see more noticeable strengths over the next three to five years, the analysis suggests, saying a broader domestic market, industrial chain clusters and a knowledgeable workforce will all be advantageous.