A survey shows that workers need an average of NT$9,954 more per month to cover living costs now, and 11 percent of respondents have taken second jobs to keep up with inflation, the online human resources agency 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) said yesterday.
“A lot of workers have begun to work a second job, especially after April, because they do not make enough money to make ends meet [amid rising commodity prices,” Monica Chiu (邱文仁), marketing director of 104 Job Bank, told a press conference.
She said more than half of the respondents — 52.2 percent — said they plan to work a second job.
The survey found that people who work a second job can add an average of NT$6,950 to their monthly income. But the gap between current income and expenses is around NT$9,954, so Chiu said more people are likely to seek a second job in the future.
Of those who already have a second job, the majority — 30 percent — said their second jobs were similar to their primary jobs, while 20.7 percent work from home doing translation and Web design work.
As for those who plan to work a second job, 36.7 percent of respondents said they would like to run an online auction business or open an online store, 36.5 percent want to do translation and Web design at home and 30.1 percent plan to work at a convenience store, hypermarket or gas station after they finish their primary job or on weekends.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) statistics published on July 7 show the consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.97 percent last month from a year ago.
But real wages, or nominal wage growth minus inflation, declined 1.92 percent in the first four months of this year, the DGBAS said on June 23.
The survey found that almost half of the nation’s workers — 49.6 percent — have not had a pay raise in three years.
Nearly 18 percent of respondents said their salaries have decreased over the past three years. Of those, 30.8 percent of respondents said their salaries had fallen by more than 10 percent, usually because they changed jobs.
“Normally people would think that by switching jobs, they would be able to get a better salary. However, unless you can convince your new employers that your past work experience can bring additional value to the company, workers will often lose their seniority and bonuses as a result of this [changing jobs],” Chiu said.
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