A NEW study supports the maxim that the rich - or at least the moderately well off - get richer. The Shanghai Labor and Security Bureau's annual survey of salaries showed that senior managers received much higher wage increases than those on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. The study looked at the 2008 annual salaries for 1,631 job positions and compared them against late year's figures. The industries surveyed were architecture, retailing, wholesaling, accommodations and dining, real estate, traffic and transportation equipment manufacturing, traffic and transportation storage, and food and drink manufacturing. The highest annual salary for senior administrative officials went to general mangers in traffic and transportation equipment manufacturing, who earned up to 625,595 yuan (US$91,528), up 15 percent from the year before. They were followed by top managers in the real estate industry, who earned 570,788 yuan, a 29-percent increase. But down at the staff level, the highest reported annual salary was only 52,061 this year, up 17 percent from the year before. Among all general managers, those in accommodations and dining fared the worst with a top annual salary of 353,108 yuan, a 44-percent increase. In terms of positions overall, the maximum board chairman's annual salary reached 632,819 yuan, up 58 percent. Compare that with the maximum annual salary of junior lathe workers of 71,362 yuan, which rose only 27 percent. The pay margins were also evident in human resources positions. Department directors earned up to 485,104 yuan, an increase of 24 percent. But the highest annual salary for HR assistants increased only 15 percent, to 109,937 this year.