Between 1985 and 2002, agriculture-related labor in rural areas declined from 83 to 66 percent; while non-agricultural labor, correspondingly, increased from 17 to 34 percent. Non-agricultural labor in China's rural areas is actually even more widespread because these data are classified by main economic activity. Part-time farmers, who are also working in the rural or urban industry, are counted as farmers, even if a considerable part of their income is from labor in the industrial or service sector.

china-profile.com - 18 December 2011