Nominal earnings growth in Taiwan hits 10-year high

Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) Average monthly earnings rose 4.27 percent from a year earlier in the first eight months of 2024, the highest rate of growth in 10 years, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

Average monthly earnings, which include both regular wages and irregular earnings such as bonuses and overtime wages, averaged NT$63,261 (US$1,967) during the eight-month period before being adjusted for inflation, DGBAS data showed.

The 4.27 percent growth rate was the highest since 2014, when it hit 4.48 percent, according to the DGBAS.

Average regular wages (salary and fixed bonuses and allowances) totaled NT$46,331, up 2.66 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.

With inflation moderating, average monthly earnings after being adjusted for inflation in the eight months grew 1.92 percent from a year earlier, while average real monthly regular wages rose 0.35 percent, the DGBAS said.

Median regular wages totaled NT$37,161 in the eight-month period, up 3.33 percent from a year earlier, and they also grew 1.00 percent after being adjusted for inflation, the DGBAS said.

Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the DGBAS' Census Department, said the growth in real average earnings was driven mainly by an increase in bonuses distributed by employers.

Employers appeared willing to raise wages and issue bonuses at a time when they are posting higher profits or trying to retain talent for future growth, Tan said.

As for regular wages, the DGBAS said the financial and insurance sector reported a 6.23 percent year-on-year increases in regular wages in the eight-month period, while the growth of regular wages in the real estate and the transportation and warehousing sectors hit 3.69 percent.

In terms of total earnings, growth rose 11.49 percent from a year earlier in the financial and insurance sector, 4.40 percent in the manufacturing sector, and 7.60 percent in the electronics component sector, the DGBAS said.