A record number of Taiwanese moved to the US to work last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Thursday last week.
About 128,000 Taiwanese took jobs in the US last year, the DGBAS said.
Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) attributed the surge to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) new Arizona factory.
Photo: Reuters
Many people also moved to Japan for work, Tan said, citing TSMC’s new fab in Kumamoto Prefecture as the main driver of the exodus.
The number of Taiwanese working in China fell slightly, continuing a downward trend, the DGBAS said.
The proportion of Taiwanese working in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, dropped from 62.2 percent of overseas workers in 2011 to 35 percent last year, it said, attributing the decrease to factors such as increases in costs and a renewed focus on Taiwan by local investors.
The weak Chinese economy and increased international concerns over Beijing are also reasons Taiwanese have opted to work in countries other than China, it added.
From 2009 to 2019, the number of Taiwanese departing for job opportunities overseas climbed from about 662,000 to about 739,000, the DGBAS data showed.
The numbers fell in 2020 and 2021 due to a trade dispute between the US and China and the COVID-19 pandemic, the DGBAS said.
About 319,000 departed for work overseas in 2021, the data showed.
The numbers began to increase again in 2022 and last year following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, it said, adding that last year the number increased by 148,000 to about 621,000.
In addition to the 128,000 people who went to work in the US, about 217,000 left for China, while 92,000 went to Southeast Asia and 68,000 took up positions in Japan or South Korea, it added.
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