The nation’s average take-home pay rose 1.63 percent to NT$42,786 in November last year, while total compensation edged up 0.65 percent to NT$48,242 after including overtime pay and performance-based rewards, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Employees at electricity and gas suppliers had the highest total pay at NT$98,856, while workers at educational facilities — excluding public and private schools — had the lowest pay at NT$26,070, the agency said.
The average take-home pay in the first 11 months of last year rose 1.51 percent from a year earlier to NT$42,458, while the figure would rose 1.78 percent from a year earlier after adusted for inflation, it said.
Photo: CNA
The nation’s workforce in November shrank 0.38 percent from a year earlier to 7.98 million people, but grew 0.21 percent from the previous month, or adding 8,000 people to the payroll, DGBAS Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said.
It was the sixth consecutive month of gains, aided by the high sales season for the manufacturing industry and service providers, Chen added.
“Hiring activity for companies in the wholesale and retail businesses appeared to have returned to pre-pandemic levels, judging by monthly and annual comparisons,” Chen said, attributing the upturn to improving demand.
Anniversary and festival promotions lent support to inventory building and shopping activity, she said, adding that even hospitality providers reported an increase in business.
The latest wage and employment data show that the labor market was steadily recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the outbreak’s impact lingers, the agency said.
As of November, the labor pool had increased by 80,000 workers since the government eased social distancing rules in June last year, the agency said.
However, the number still suggested a retreat of 37,000 from the pre-pandemic level in late January, Chen said.
Restaurants and hotels bore the brunt of losses, with headcounts shrinking by 27,000 people, the DGBAS said.
The number of job losses totaled 13,000 in the manufacturing sector, mostly at suppliers of machinery equipment and textile products, it said.
Vendors of flat panels, laptops and peripheral products raised headcounts by 4,000 to meet surging demand caused by teleworking and distance learning trends.
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