Many full-time workers also have part-time jobs, and some eventually quit their full-time employment to work in several part-time jobs, according a recent survey by manpower agency 1111 Job Bank.
The agency said more than 10 percent of the nation’s full-time workers also do part-time jobs, which means that more than 700,000 workers are juggling multiple jobs.
Taiwan’s stagnant wages, especially the very low NT$22,000 (US$735) starting salary for university graduates, have led many youths to seek additional income by moonlighting or working part-time during weekends, it said.
Daniel Lee (李大華), a public relations director at 1111 Job Bank, said he recently heard of a case in which a man in his late 20s gave up his NT$40,000 per month job as a restaurant manager and became a part-timer at a fast-food chain store. He also worked as a wedding singer and a part-time receptionist at funerals.
His monthly income now averages NT$60,000, Lee said.
The number of part-time jobs on the market has jumped from 22,000 in 2007 to 72,000 this year, according to the data available at 104 Job Bank, another major recruiting agency in Taiwan.
The number of part-time workers in Taiwan has also increased from 43,000 in 2007 to more than 76,000 this year.
Most of the increase in part-time job offerings over the past six years was in restaurants, as well as in the shipping, hotel and retail sectors, the bank added.
104 Job Bank project manager Pola Chang (張雅惠) said the increase was due to the inadequate salaries for full-time jobs in the industries, adding that the industries need to optimize the use of manpower during peak and off-peak seasons in order to operate efficiently.
The number of full-time workers seeking part-time jobs in June was 1.5 times higher than that of the corresponding period last year, and was up 47 percent from 2011, according to data available at 1111 Job Bank.
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