As the economy recovers from the financial crisis, more than 80 percent of companies plan to pay out bonuses this year, up 17.5 percentage points from 63.93 percent last year, a survey by the 1111 Job Bank showed.
Topping the list are real estate companies, which plan to distribute an average bonus equivalent to 1.93 months in wages, it said.
The survey, which polled 544 enterprises between Jan. 7 and Jan. 20, said that nearly 37 percent planned to increase their bonus payments by an average of 28 percent from last year.
“Both the number of companies planning to give out year-end bonuses and the amount of bonuses have increased this year because employers are upbeat about the economy in the coming year,” job bank public relations director Henry Ho (何啟聖) told a press conference yesterday.
Taiwanese companies typically distribute bonuses before the end of the lunar year.
One key reason cited by companies for giving out bonuses was to reward employees who “stayed on board” during the economic downturn, Ho said.
“This year’s bonus distribution has more symbolic, rather than material, significance,” Ho said.
Average bonuses for this year increased to 1.73 months’ salary, up from 1.47 months last year, pointing to a likely upturn in the economy, the survey said.
“Overall, sales in the real estate market increased about 30 percent last year compared with the previous year. The top sales agents this year will receive almost NT$10 million in bonuses,” Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), spokeswoman for HB Housing, told reporters.
The survey showed that nearly 31 percent of companies would still pay out bonuses even if they did not make profits last year, up 6.83 percentage points from the previous year.
Ho said a recent announcement by a number of listed companies that they would grant year-end bonuses might have encouraged other companies to follow suit.
Topping the list of companies planning to grant year-end bonuses are the pharmaceutical and farming industries, followed by trade and distribution industries and manufacturing sectors, the survey showed.
“No pain, no gain. More than 50 percent of companies will give out bonuses based on employee performance,” the survey said.
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