The inflation-adjusted average monthly take-home wage last quarter shrank 0.1 percent to NT$44,216 (US$1,488) from a year earlier, the first decline in six years as consumer price hikes outpaced raises, which hit a 12-year high, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Take-home pay climbed 2.71 percent in the January-to-March period, slower than the inflationary gauge’s 2.81 percent increase, induced mainly by soaring international fuel prices, the agency said.
Taiwan’s GDP expanded more than 6 percent last year, prompting the public and private sectors to increase wages, explaining why take-home pay advanced at the fastest rate since 2010, while total monthly wages — including overtime, and performance-based compensation and bonuses — grew 3.04 percent to NT$68,896, the most in four years, DGBAS Senior Executive Officer Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said.
Photo: CNA
However, consumer prices grew faster and pushed wage data into negative territory, Chen said.
For March alone, regular monthly wages increased 2.63 percent to NT$44,350, while overall pay picked up 4.6 percent to NT$51,282, DGBAS data showed.
The government last year pushed through a 6 percent hike in basic wages followed by a 4 percent pay raise for civil servants in the hope that the private sector would follow suit this year.
The policy achieved its intended effect, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February sent energy and raw material prices higher than expected, the DGBAS said.
At the same time, uneven growth persists as COVID-19 infections continue to haunt Taiwan, judging by the number of employees hired in the industrial and service sectors, it said.
The number of employees last quarter averaged 8.16 million, with manufacturing companies improving payroll, but service-oriented operators shedding staff, the agency said.
The entertainment and retail sectors let go 11,000 and 9,000 workers respectively, while medical and manufacturing facilities added 11,000 and 6,000 respectively, it said.
“Service-focused sectors remain on course toward recovery, but the pace was slower than expected,” Chen said.
The spread of COVID-19 should have a limited effect, because the government is not tightening control measures, but seeking to coexist with the virus, she said.
The nation’s manufacturing facilities have largely maintained normal operations, she said.
The DGBAS would pay close attention to changes in the job market, as a significant number of people are staying home to avoid infection, Chen added.
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