Sales across Taiwan’s computer and information technology (IT) services sector are set to surpass NT$400 billion (US$13.47 billion) this year on COVID-19 pandemic-induced demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Department of Statistics said in a report on Monday.
Comprised of the computer programming industry and the IT services industry, which contribute about 75 percent and 25 percent each to total sales, the sector has witnessed steady growth over the past 10 years, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 percent, the report said.
Driven mainly by sales of software, the sector posted a 7.3 percent annual increase in sales to NT$90.8 billion for last quarter, it said.
That was mostly due to a surge in demand propelled by the coronavirus outbreak, which helped the computer programming industry post a 10.1 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to NT$69.2 billion for last quarter, it said.
Stable demand for 5G technology, cybersecurity, computer and server software, as well as cloud computing architecture, further accentuated the phenomenon, it added.
Meanwhile, the IT services industry posted a slight annual decline of 0.7 percent to NT$21.6 billion for last quarter, as the pandemic slowed traffic on travel agency Web sites, restaurant coupon sites and other similar discount Web sites, the report said.
As demand for computer and IT services continues on an upward trend, sales generated by the sector are likely to reach a new high this year, it said.
In related news, average take-home wages across the computer and IT services sector is higher than the wider services sector, data compiled by the department showed.
The average salary of an employee working in the computer and IT services sector last quarter amounted to NT$65,929, while a services sector employee received a significantly lower salary of NT$44,325, the data showed.
The number of employees working in the computer and IT services sector has been increasing steadily, with a total of 113,544 employees last quarter, almost double the 67,635 workers employed 10 years ago, the data showed.
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