COST OF LIVING/Taiwan's annual average wage rises to eight-year high: Job bank survey

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) The average annual salary for full-time employees in Taiwan reached an eight-year high of NT$694,000 (US$22,242) this year, with wages in the semiconductor sector topping all industries, according to a survey released Wednesday by online human resources platform 104 Job Bank.

Amid a severe labor shortage, companies have boosted wages to try to attract and retain workers, driving the average annual salary to an eight-year high in 2023, said Stanley Hua (花梓馨), general manager of 104 Human Resource Institute, at a news conference, citing the results of a Taiwan salary trends survey.

However, amid an economic slowdown, the figure represents only a 2.5 percent increase from a year ago, lower than the 3.1 percent year-on-year hike recorded last year, Hua said.

Among the top five highest paying industries, the semiconductor industry came top with an estimated average annual salary of NT$1.022 million this year, up 5.4 percent from a year ago, followed by the computer and consumer electronics manufacturing sector at NT$873,000 and the electronic components industry at NT$846,000, Hua said.

Employees in the telecommunications and info-communications industry and the software and network service sector earned an estimated yearly salary of NT$842,000 and NT$835,000, respectively.

In the semiconductor sector, analog integrated circuit (IC) design engineers enjoyed the highest average annual salary at NT$1.37 million, according to Hua.

Among non-engineering jobs, auditors earned the most with NT$886,000, followed by computer systems analysts at NT$883,000 and cybersecurity analysts at NT$868,000, with internal controls increasingly important due to growing cybersecurity risks facing businesses, Hua said.

In addition, the 104 survey showed that 99.6 percent of enterprises expect to pay year-end bonuses to employees.

However, due to the stagnant economy, companies on average will hand out year-end bonuses worth 1.08 months of wages this year, a decrease of 0.25 months compared with last year and the lowest level in 10 years, according to Hua.

The financial sector plans to give an average bonus of 1.83 months of pay, topping all industries for the 12th consecutive year, followed by the semiconductor industry with 1.38 months' pay and the construction sector with 1.23 months.

In comparison, the accommodation and catering sector will pay their employees an average bonus of only 0.59 months of salary and the medical care services industry plan to give year-end bonuses worth 0.97 months, Hua said.

In addition, 47.5 percent of companies are expected to give employees a pay hike in 2024, at an average level of 3.2 percent of salary, the third lowest in nearly 10 years, according to Hua.

However, some enterprises failed to indicate whether they plan to increase salaries next year, he added.

The survey was conducted from June 5 to Sept. 8 among executives of human resources and employment departments at 1,195 companies, covering salaries for 224 job positions, according to the job bank.