Almost 60% of employers plan wage hikes in Q1: Poll

Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) Nearly 60 percent of employers in Taiwan plan to raise wages for employees in the first quarter of next year, with the average increase expected to be 4.1 percent, according to a survey released Tuesday by 1111 online job bank.

The purposive sampling survey, conducted from Dec. 5 to 25, found that 59.8 percent of the 1,089 respondents expected to raise wages next year, up 7.3 percentage points from a similar poll last year. The average expected wage hike of 4.1 percent was largely unchanged from a year earlier.

Despite economic uncertainties stemming from U.S. tariff policies and ongoing geopolitical tensions, the job bank said more employers appear willing to increase pay to retain staff and curb turnover amid a tight labor market.

Among employers planning wage increases, 39.4 percent said they would raise pay for all employees, the survey showed.

When deciding on pay raises, 45 percent of employers said they would consider business and individual performance, while 13.9 percent said seniority would be a key factor.

The survey also found that 44 percent of employers plan to launch recruitment campaigns in the first quarter of next year, down from 57 percent in the previous poll.

Of those planning to hire, 46 percent said they would recruit entry-level employees, while 32.5 percent said they were seeking professional talent.

The job bank said the results suggest employers are increasingly prioritizing employee retention through wage increases, while taking a more cautious approach to hiring in order to control operating costs.

According to the survey, the sectors with the strongest demand for talent were information and communication technology, construction and property, hospitality and food and beverage, healthcare and environmental sanitation, and traditional manufacturing.

Reviewing their business performance this year, 64.1 percent of employers said operations met expectations, while 8.9 percent said results exceeded expectations.