The wage growth in Taiwan’s industrial and service sectors in April accelerated from the previous month, driven by a surge in manufacturing demand ahead of potential US tariff hikes — a sign that the labor market held healthy even as global trade tensions loom.
Average regular wages gained 3.22 percent from a year earlier to NT$47,807 (US$1,598) in April, compared with 3.03 percent growth in the previous month, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Total wages — including performance-based commissions, bonuses and overtime pay — increased 3.3 percent to NT$55,546, the DGBAS said.
Photo: CNA
April’s wage expansion coincided with a sharp uptick in overtime hours in the manufacturing sector, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said at a news conference in Taipei.
Factory workers clocked an average of 17.8 overtime hours in April, the most in eight-and-a-half years, while those in the electronics components industry, central to Taiwan’s export-driven economy, worked 27.9 overtime hours on average, a record high in 46 years, Tan said.
Overtime pay in April averaged NT$2,423, the highest for the month in history, DGBAS data showed.
The remarkable performance had much to do with front-loading of orders ahead of the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Tan said, adding that the gains might prove temporary if the Trump administration presses ahead with drastic tariff hikes across the world next month following a 90-day pause.
“If higher tariffs kick in after the 90-day respite, Taiwan could see a pullback in demand in the second half of the year,” Tan said. “If the tariff shifts are modest, their impact would be very limited.”
Real wages, adjusted for inflation, climbed 1.16 percent in April, the biggest rise in five years, DGBAS data showed.
The jump in compensation highlights a stretch where wage growth is outpacing consumer prices now for the 13th consecutive month, offering some relief to workers after years of tepid real income growth, Tan said.
For the January-April period, real regular wages rose 0.9 percent year-on-year, the first positive reading for the time frame in four years, the DGBAS said.
The median regular wage, a more telling measure of broad-based compensation, stood at NT$38,208 in April, underscoring that many workers still earn well below the average, Tan said.
Meanwhile, wage adjustments grew more widespread across different sectors in Taiwan. Roughly 32.5 percent of companies raised regular pay this year, after 33.9 percent did so last year — the highest proportion in 24 years, the agency said.
Half cited workers’ improving performances as the reason, while nearly 40 percent pointed to minimum wage increases, it said, adding that enhanced profitability ranked the third most common driver.
The data suggested that sustained wage growth might depend on how trade negotiations and tariff developments unfold in the months ahead, Tan said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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