As a single mother raising a teenage boy in southern China, a 1,500 yuan ($330) monthly wage cut has hit Ms Wei hard.
"I could save 1,000 yuan every month in the past, but now I have to use my savings to pay [part of] my mortgage," said Ms Wei, who didn't want to use her full name for privacy reasons.
Ms Wei said she only has enough savings to supplement her mortgage payments for the next two to three months.
As an accountant in China, Ms Wei works in the finance sector where the government has been cutting and capping workers' pay.
China's financial sector is led by state-owned banks and institutions, which are ultimately controlled by the government.
Ms Wei's monthly salary has been reduced from 6,000 yuan to 4,500 yuan and her year-end bonus slashed by more than half.
"They [the government] started to cut everyone's salary last July. It's a heavy blow to my life," Ms Wei said.
While her wage started shrinking six months ago, late in January Chinese authorities announced a new round of finance sector pay cuts to "reduce costs and increase efficiency".
On Chinese social media, there have also been complaints of pay cuts from people working for government-related employers in the construction, engineering, and media sectors.
But with no announcements from authorities about salary reductions in those industries, the scale of the impact remains unclear.
At the same time, China's government has increased the wages of public service workers.
Experts say one of main reasons the government is controlling people's incomes in different industries is to reduce inequality in Chinese society.
'I can barely make a living'
In the new round of finance sector wage reductions announced in January, Chinese authorities said no employee working in a state-owned financial institution could be paid more than a total annual package of 973,000 yuan.
The annual average income for finance sector workers is higher than other industries — finance wages are reportedly 2.35 times that of wages in China's manufacturing industry.
"Overall, Chinese companies haven't been doing well recently, but people in the finance industry still enjoy a relatively high income," explained Shi He-Ling, a Monash University economics professor.
"It's causing a lot of public anger."
Professor Shi said the government was trying to intervene and redistribute the income to public service workers and it was unlikely people's individual circumstances would be considered before a salary was slashed.
That appeared to be the case for Gaia Wang, who, when she found out her salary would be cut by 1,500 yuan a month, called her mum crying.
"I can barely make a living," said Ms Wang, who lives in south-west China.
Ms Wang works for an investment firm in the finance sector.
Her monthly salary was 6,500 yuan but dropped to 5,000 yuan in February.
While she is still coming to terms with how the salary reduction will impact her life, her mental health has deteriorated and she's unsure how she'll continue to afford living costs.
"The salary was comparatively low [to other finance sector workers] but I'm early in my career and used to find it OK living in Chengdu," she explained.
Pay rise for public service
The painful news of her pay cut compounded after a surprise revelation during the phone call with her mum.
"I called my mum crying about the pay cut and that's when I found out she got a pay rise of a few hundred yuan," Ms Wang said.
Ms Wang says she doesn't know exactly why her mum, who is a public servant, got a pay rise.
China raised government workers' salaries across the country for the first time in years in January by at least 500 yuan a month.
Chinese authorities didn't publicly acknowledged the pay rise, nor did they say explain why they made the decision.
While some media reported the hike was intended to boost domestic consumption, Professor Shi suggested there could be multiple motives.
"There could be both economic and political reasons," he said.
He pointed out that most public servants were property owners and the government wanted to keep them happy.
China's property prices have dropped about 30 per cent since they peaked in 2021.
Falling property prices were likely leading to shrinking wealth among government workers, Professor Shi said.
"They [government workers] lay the foundation for the government's management. China relies on them for keeping their governance stable."
Professor Shi said he believed the wage policies would have unintended impacts, like forcing talented workers to take up other jobs.
In 2024 alone, more than 10,000 people left the securities industry, according to local media.
Ms Wang is among those considering quitting the finance sector.
While she works at the investment firm, she is studying law and preparing to sit the bar exams.
"I used to make one-year plans, three-year plans and five-year job plans, but now I'm just investing more time on myself," Ms Wang said.
For Ms Wei, the challenges of raising a school-aged son meant she desperately wanted to spend more time with her family.
"I've made the decision to ask for leave to care for my son. If they don't approve, I'll quit."
But with so many people leaving the finance sector, the prospect of finding a new job concerns Ms Wei.
"What I'm worried about is that if I quit, I could end up with a worse job," she said.
"The economy is so bad and the competition [for work] is brutal."
