Real regular wage growth in Taiwan hits 11-year high in Q1

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) Taiwan's real average regular wage rose at its fastest pace for any first quarter in 11 years in the first quarter of 2026, as salary increases outpaced inflation, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

Monthly regular wages for employees in the industrial and service sectors averaged NT$48,706 (US$1,550) in the January-March period, up 2.69 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the DGBAS.

After adjusting for inflation, average real regular wages increased 1.45 percent year-on-year, marking the largest increase for the same period since 2015, the agency said.

Meanwhile, real average monthly total earnings -- which include regular wages and variable income such as bonuses and overtime pay -- rose 1.98 percent in the January-March period from a year earlier, the biggest first-quarter increase in eight years.

In March alone, average regular wages were NT$48,768, up 2.6 percent year-on-year, while average total earnings rose 4.4 percent to NT$57,509, according to the DGBAS.

DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said the strong performance was driven in part by continued growth in artificial intelligence-related sectors.

She said the AI boom has boosted economic activity in those sectors, leading to increases in overtime pay, performance bonuses and year-end bonuses that have lifted the overall growth of employees' earnings.

Because average wage figures can be skewed by extremely high incomes, the DGBAS also released median wage data, which it said better reflects typical earnings conditions.

The median monthly regular wage in March stood at NT$39,220, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier, the agency said.

Despite the positive momentum, Tan cautioned that rising global energy prices could put pressure on inflation in the coming months.

She noted that international energy prices surged following the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in late February, with the effects gradually filtering through to domestic consumer prices.

Tan said that whether real wages continue to grow will depend on whether wage increases can continue to exceed inflation.