Taiwanese employers are signaling steady hiring activity heading into the third quarter, with the healthcare, energy and technology sectors leading in job creation, a quarterly survey by ManpowerGroup showed on Tuesday.
About 36 percent of companies plan to increase headcount next quarter, while 16 percent anticipate cuts and 45 percent intend to hold steady, ManpowerGroup said, citing a survey of 628 Taiwanese employers.
Hiring sentiment is strongest in healthcare and life sciences, as 41 percent more employers are planning to hire than those planning to reduce staff, the survey showed.
Photo: CNA
The trend comes as hospitals and biotech firms are responding to chronic labor shortages and prepare for expanded long-term care services under Taiwan’s long-term care policy to be implemented next year, ManpowerGroup said.
Consequently, demand is rising for frontline nurses, home care workers and interdisciplinary talent in process development and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in medicine, ManpowerGroup analyst Wang Da-wei (王大為) said.
Energy and utilities recorded the second-brightest outlook, as 35 percent of the firms are looking to increase hiring, the survey found.
Domestic firms in these sectors are stepping up campus recruitment to fill research and development, engineering and operations roles, Wang said.
However, recent pullbacks in Taiwan’s offshore wind sector by foreign firms and production capacity cuts underscore the risks of supply chain concentration and weak global demand for green infrastructure, he said.
Information technology remains a key hiring engine, with 29 percent more firms seeking to increase headcount, driven by continued investment in AI and semiconductor manufacturing, ManpowerGroup said.
More than 50 tech companies are expected to release thousands of openings during the graduation season, targeting talent in development, testing and fabrication, it said.
By contrast, hiring activity in the telecommunications sector has slowed, despite ongoing investment in 5G and AI-enabled infrastructure, the survey showed.
Employers are scaling back amid revenue pressure and disruptions from global trade policies, Wang said, adding that the sector remains in a transition phase, focused on restructuring supply chains and modernizing legacy systems.
In terms of regional comparison, Taiwan ranked fifth-strongest in the Asia-Pacific region, behind India, China and Singapore, but ahead of Hong Kong, where employers are the most conservative, ManpowerGroup said.
Global trade uncertainty is shaping hiring decisions for nearly nine in 10 companies, especially for employers in the communication services and information technology industries, it said.
A growing number of companies have focused on automation to handle repetitive tasks, ManpowerGroup 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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