TSMC expansion pushes Taiwanese working in U.S. to record high

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) The number of Taiwanese working in the United States rose to a record high of 137,000 in 2024, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released Wednesday.

A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed.

Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid U.S.-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies, and pandemic travel restrictions, the DGBAS said.

The figure has rebounded over the past three years as Taiwan lifted border controls and countries including the U.S. have convinced TSMC to manufacture chips in their territory, it added.

DGBAS Deputy Census Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said that the latest rise is closely tied to TSMC's new fabs in the U.S. state of Arizona and Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, both of which began mass production at the end of 2024.

They drew not only TSMC staff but also workers from related suppliers to work overseas, Tan said.

The DGBAS data also indicated that China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remained the top destination for Taiwanese workers in 2024 with 231,000 people, or 34.7 percent of the total overseas Taiwanese workers.

Before the pandemic, however, more than 400,000 Taiwanese were employed there -- over 60 percent of the total -- but numbers fell amid U.S.-China tensions, tech disputes, and rising labor and compliance costs in China.

The U.S.' share of Taiwanese workers, meanwhile, rose to 20.5 percent, while Southeast Asia accounted for 14.6 percent. Japan and South Korea together made up 12 percent, with the number of Taiwanese working in those two countries reaching a record 80,000, the data showed.

Tan said more Taiwanese are heading to Japan and South Korea -- particularly Japan, which is actively seeking foreign talent to counter its rapidly aging population and growing openness to overseas labor and investment.