The average disposable income per household last year reached NT$1.165 million (US$38,820), setting a new record high and increasing 2.5 percent year-on-year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ (DGBAS) latest “Family Income and Expenditure” report showed on Friday.
The median disposable income per household last year was NT$985,000, also an increase of 2.5 percent from the previous year, the report said.
After excluding household size factors, the average disposable income per person last year was NT$419,000, an increase of 2.9 percent compared with the previous year, while the median figure was NT$356,000, up 1.8 percent, it said.
Photo: CNA
The DGBAS attributed the increases to Taiwan’s economy growing steadily, driving up people’s disposable income.
Last year, the nation’s GDP grew 4.84 percent, while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.38 percent, the agency said.
With increases to the minimum wage, the overall income level in Taiwan thus increased, it added.
Notably, the average annual income of all age groups also reached record levels last year, with that of people younger than 30 climbing to NT$559,000, up 2.5 percent from the previous year and setting a new record, the DGBAS said.
The average annual income for those aged 30 to 34 was NT$727,000 and for those aged 35 to 39 NT$818,000, the agency said.
The average income was NT$903,000 for those aged 40 to 44, NT$944,000 for those aged 45 to 54, NT$832,000 for the 55-to-64 age group, and NT$492,000 for people aged 65 and older, it said.
The DGBAS projected Taiwan’s GDP to grow 4.45 percent this year, an upward revision of 1.35 percentage points from its previous forecast in May, with GDP per capita at US$38,066.
GDP growth next year is expected to reach 2.81 percent, with GDP per capita surpassing US$40,000 for the first time at US$41,019, it said.
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing