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IT companies top job seekers' wish list

Information technology (IT) firms were among job seekers' most popular search keywords on the Web last year, while jobs requiring Japanese language skills were most in demand, followed by positions for assistants and drivers, an executive of Internet-based 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) said yesterday.

"Five of the top 10 companies users searched for last year were IT companies, with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp [奇美電子], Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co [TSMC, 台積電] and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co [鴻海精密] being the top three," Ryan Wu (吳睿穎), vice general manager and spokesman for Taipei-based 1111 Job Bank, said at a press briefing.

Because English language skills are now so common, Japanese skills are thought by job seekers to be beneficial when looking for a job with a higher salary.

Burgeoning trade between Taiwan and Japan and the proliferation of so-called "Japanese culture junkies" (哈日風) have also helped boost the popularity of jobs requiring Japanese language skills, Wu said.

"It is not surprising to see entry level jobs, such as those for assistants and drivers on the list, as they require fewer professional skills. The increasingly popular drivers job last year was in the emerging car rental sector, which attracted many college graduates," Wu said.

The real estate industry offered the highest average monthly starting salary last year at NT$32,452 (US$1,010). Construction engineers received the highest starting monthly salary for a particular job type, NT$37,983, higher even than the average monthly salary of NT$36,735 from January to November last year, figures from the government's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed.

"Despite the sluggish economy over the past two years, domestic housing-related industries have been less affected, resulting in a rising demand for employees in those industries," Wu said, adding that the real estate industry also paid out the nation's highest annual bonuses this year, the firm's last survey showed.

At the other end of the scale. the retail industry had the lowest average starting monthly salary at NT$26,457, while general administrative jobs had the lowest entry-level monthly salary at NT$24,089.

"It is a surprise that sales positions, which are currently most in demand, are not on the list. This shows an interesting phenomenon where the younger generation would rather choose entry-level jobs that require less professional skills, rather than sales positions with potentially higher salaries," Wu said.
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