The average worker in Taiwan earns a monthly salary of NT$36,564, a slight increase from the same period two years ago, a recent survey released by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) showed.
The survey, which sampled more than 9,000 workers across the country in August last year, found that employees in “managerial or supervisory” positions earned the most money at NT$59,960, about 1.64 times as much as the average monthly salary. They were followed by professionals, who earned an average of NT$49,625 a month.
Workers in the “service personnel or salesperson” category were the lowest earners at NT$22,747, about 0.62 times the salary of average workers, the survey showed.
Professionals also enjoyed a more dramatic increase in their salaries compared with previous years.
Professionals saw their paychecks grow by 4.34 percent from the same period in 2006, compared with 1.38 percent for the average worker. Service providers and salespeople, whose salary dropped, were last in terms of salary growth, with their monthly salaries shrinking by 2.27 percent.
The survey showed that the highest earners tended to be professionals or those who have hazardous jobs. Airplane pilots, earning NT$152,239 per month, took the lead, followed by actuaries at NT$142,470, doctors at NT$91,696, professional athletes at NT$88,540 and lawyers at NT$87,500.
Although doctors and lawyers are already big earners, Cheng Wen-yuan (鄭文淵), director of the council’s Statistics Department, said their salaries could be underestimated because the survey sampled businesses and organizations, not individual employees. Doctors and lawyers who are employed by more than one company may therefore be earning more than the average reported salary.
Performers at recreational locations — a category that excludes celebrity-status performing artists — came in last in terms of average monthly salaries, earning only NT$14,377.
They were followed by waiters and waitresses at NT$14,775, bartenders at NT$16,853, gas station workers at NT$17,469 and dental assistants at NT$17,289.
Low-wage workers tended to be temporary or part-time workers, whose work usually does not require a high level of skills and who are easily replaceable, Cheng said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
Taipei resident Mu Chu-hua caught some glimpses of China’s mighty military parade on YouTube on Wednesday. As she watched hypersonic missiles roll down Beijing’s Changan Avenue and troops march in lockstep, she did not feel like they posed a threat to Taiwan. Mu, a 69-year-old retiree, said she saw the parade as simply a way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to “say thank you to the troops.” “I thought it was quite normal,” she said. “It was very cool.” China’s military parade commemorating the end of World War II was being watched internationally for insights into Beijing’s military advances and its show