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Police body reveals statistics on foreign workers in nation

There were more than 280,000 legal foreign workers in the country as of the end of May, most of whom were working in the manufacturing sector, according to statistics released yesterday by the National Police Administration.

The nation opened its job market to foreign nationals in 1989 to help resolve a shortage of manual laborers. Three years later, the government further opened the door to foreign maids and caregivers.

At the end of May, there were a total of 280,277 legal foreign workers -- 157,201 women and 123,076 men, according to police statistics.

Thailand accounted for the largest share of laborers, with 102,441, followed by Indonesia, with 73,859, the Philippines, with 66,318 and Vietnam, with 37,589.

In terms of occupation, manufacturing technicians made up the backbone of the foreign workforce, accounting for 150,106 people, or 53.56 percent of the total; followed by caregivers with 105,474 people, or 37.64 percent; construction workers with 17,020 people, or 6.07 percent; and maids with 4,627 people, or 1.65 percent.

The tallies further show that manufacturing technicians come mostly from Thailand and the Philippines, while construction workers are mainly Thais and caregivers and maids are mostly Indonesians.

Meanwhile, police authorities managed to seize 2,686 illegal foreign workers between January and May this year. Among them, 2,214 had overstayed their visas and had taken jobs without legal permits, while the remaining 472 had not overstayed their visas but did not have proper work permits.

As of the end of May, 60,619 foreign workers had absconded from their jobs, 50,986 of whom had been arrested and repatriated to their home countries. However, 9,633 of them remained unaccounted for, with Indonesians accounting for 41.1 percent and Vietnamese making up 24.01 percent.

Police officials attributed the absconcions to a combination of factors, including poor working conditions, seeking a higher-paid job or a better working environment, or absconding with the hope of staying in Taiwan after the expiration of their original work contracts.
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