Nearly one-third of local employers last year raised regular wages or benefits, the most in 17 years, a Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) survey showed yesterday.
It marked the fourth year in a row that a growing number of local companies increased monthly salaries or benefits, as the nation’s GDP grew at a faster rate: 2.89 percent, compared with 2016’s 1.41 percent growth, the survey showed.
Most employers increased regular pay 3 to 6 percent from 2016 because of improved productivity and corporate earnings growth, the survey showed.
Retaining talent was also a vital factor, the DGBAS said.
Some companies raised salaries to cope with the government’s minimum wage increases, the agency said, adding that the government has raised the minimum wage every year since 2011.
The prospect of a payroll increase looms larger this year, as about 32 percent of local employers on March 31 decided to hike regular wages, the survey said.
A number of companies plan to raise regular salaries 3 to 6 percent, matching most local electronics firms’ pay increases, the DGBAS said.
Companies with more than 500 employees are more willing to increase pay, with more than 68 percent intending to raise salaries this year, the survey showed.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which has more than 30,000 employees, earlier this year said that it usually raises wages about 3 to 5 percent every year.
About 29 percent of surveyed companies said they have not come to any conclusion about pay adjustments, while about 38 percent said they do not plan to raise salaries this year, the DGBAS said.
By sector, about 31.7 percent of industrial firms raised monthly wages last year, outnumbering the service sector’s 26.8 percent.
Within the industrial sector, about 40.6 percent of manufacturers increased salaries, compared with 11.8 percent of mining companies.
In the service sector, financial and insurance companies recorded the highest rate of pay increases at 71.5 percent, while only 16 percent of entertainment and leisure companies increased wages.
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