Real wages increase slightly in first nine months: Statistics agency

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) Wages on average rose slightly faster than inflation in the first nine months of 2024, while the gap between the lowest and highest paid workers in Taiwan has shrunk, according to government statistics released Monday.

According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DGBAS), average monthly regular salary for all employed workers from January to September this year was NT$46,364 (US$1,432), which represents an increase of 2.72 percent compared to the same period last year.

After inflation is factored in, the average salary grew by 0.45 percent in real terms during the period.

The median monthly regular salary for all employed workers was NT$37,195, an increase of 3.29 percent in nominal terms and of 1 percent in real terms after inflation, the agency said.

The data also showed that there was a narrowing of the wage gap between the highest and lowest paid workers in the first three quarters of the year, with the 90th percentile salary standing at around 2.79 times that of the 10th percentile salary.

The narrowing of the wage gap was the result of the 10th percentile (NT$27,470) increasing by 4.05 percent while the 90th percentile (NT$76,728) grew by only 2.75 percent during the period.

"There are many people who earn the minimum wage in Taiwan," said Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the DGBAS's Department of Census, adding that the government's minimum wage increases over the years had contributed to the rise in salaries at lower percentiles.

Taiwan's minimum wage -- which refers to workers covered by the Labor Standards Act, excluding live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers -- was last raised on Jan. 1, 2024.

A further increase, raising the monthly minimum wage by 4.08 percent from NT$27,470 to NT$28,590, was agreed last month and is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

The current monthly salary for live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers is NT$20,000.