Taiwan's wage growth beat inflation for 13th straight month in April

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) The growth in average regular wages for workers in Taiwan's industrial and service sectors beat inflation for the 13th consecutive month in April, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Wednesday.

Data compiled by the DGBAS showed average nominal regular wage in Taiwan stood at NT$47,807 (US$1,598) in April, up 3.22 percent from a year earlier.

After adjusting for inflation, average real regular wage in April grew 1.16 percent from a year earlier to NT$43,727.

Speaking with reporters, Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the agency's Census Department, said that at a time when Taiwan was facing inflationary pressure, employees were more concerned about the average real wage.

Tan said, however, Taiwan's wage growth continued to beat inflation, with the average real regular wage growth hitting the highest level for April in almost five years. She added that April was also the 13th consecutive month that average wage growth surpassed consumer price increases.

In April, average earnings, which is comprised of regular wages and non-regular income such as bonuses and overtime pay, rose to NT$55,546, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier.

In the first four months of this year, average nominal regular wages in Taiwan totaled NT$47,523, up 3.08 percent, while average real regular wages hit NT$43,519, up 0.9 percent from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.

In April, Taiwan's consumer price index grew 2.03 percent from a year earlier, while the CPI growth for the January-April period hit 2.15 percent.

On Wednesday, the DGBAS also released the median wage figures, which tend to better reflect the reality of the job market.

According to the DGBAS, the average median wage in Taiwan rose 3.05 percent from a year earlier to NT$38,208 in April, while the average median wage in the four-month period also rose 3 percent from a year earlier to NT$38,116, with the growth after inflationary adjustments up 0.82 percent from a year earlier, also beating inflation.

In the four months, the DGBAS said, average median wage for male employees rose 3.27 percent from a year earlier to NT$39,922, while average median wage for female employees rose 3.17 percent to NT$36,046.

Meanwhile, the DGBAS's data showed the average overtime working hours in the local export-oriented manufacturing sector totaled 16.7 hours in the four months. In April alone, the average overtime working hours in the sector reached a new high in the past eight and half years to 17.8 hours, up 1.6 hours from a year earlier.

As for the electronics component industry, the average overtime working hours hit 26.5 hours in the four-month period, the highest level since the tallies began in June 1980, according to the DGBAS.

Tan said the increases reflected the impact resulting from the Trump administration's tariff policies, which prompted many foreign buyers to place orders ahead of schedule.

U.S. President Donald Trump first announced "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2 on countries that have high trade surpluses with the United States. These included a 32 percent import duty on goods from Taiwan, but Trump announced a 90-day pause a week later to allow negotiations for a lower levy.

In April, average overtime pay reached NT$2,423, a new high in six months, according to the DGBAS.

In addition, the DGBAS said about 33.9 percent of companies in Taiwan raised wages for their employees in 2024, the highest in 24 years.

The DGBAS said despite uncertainties created by U.S. tariff policies, it is likely that more companies in Taiwan will raise the wages of their employees this year, as sales and earnings in the first half of the year have been on the rise.

(By Liu Chien-ling and Frances Huang)

Enditem/cs