Taiwan’s median wage last year rose 2.37 percent to NT$518,000 (US$16,570), the biggest increase in four years, as GDP growth in the previous year allowed firms to boost pay and issue more bonuses, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday
The data suggest that the 4.09 million workers in the industrial and service sectors had annual pay below the benchmark, as the number of workers across sectors was 8.17 million, the DGBAS said.
“The increase in median wage last year had much to do with a GDP growth of 6.62 percent in 2021” on the back of COVID-19 bonuses, Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said.
Photo: CNA
The pace would lessen this year, as local firms are taking a hit from a global slowdown induced by sharp inflation and monetary tightening, Chen said.
Median wages were highest at electricity and gas suppliers at NT$1.09 million, followed by NT$1.04 million at financial and insurance companies, as well as video content creators and information service providers at NT$754,000, the data showed.
Non-school educational facilities offered the lowest median wage of NT$360,000, followed by alternative service providers at NT$361,000, and hotels and restaurants at NT$381,000, the DGBAS said.
The median wage is highest in Hsinchu City at NT$821,000, as it is home to the headquarters of major high-tech firms, it said.
Taipei was second with a median annual wage of NT$701,000, with major financial and insurance companies having their headquarters and flagship branches in the capital, Chen said.
Penghu and Changhua counties had the lowest median wages of NT$428,000 and NT$429,000 respectively due to a lack of well-paid job opportunities, the DGBAS said.
Male workers had a higher median wage of NT$557,000 compared with females at NT$481,000, it said.
Workers with graduate degrees reported a median wage of NT$1.04 million, while those with at best a junior-high school education had the lowest median wage of NT$413,000, it said.
Workers aged 40 and 49 had the highest median wage of NT$589,000, while employees under 25 had the lowest of NT$362,000, it said.
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