Real monthly regular wage growth hits 6-year high for first half

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) Inflation-adjusted average monthly regular wages in Taiwan's industrial and service sectors posted the strongest growth for the first half of the year in six years, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

According to DGBAS data, real average monthly regular wages reached NT$44,119 (US$1,368) in the January-June period, up 1.16 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest since 2020, when the increase hit 1.60 percent.

Before adjusting for inflation, average monthly regular wages for the six-month period rose 2.88 percent from a year earlier to NT$48,981, the figures showed.

Average aggregate earnings -- including regular and non-regular pay such as overtime pay and bonuses -- totaled NT$411,786 in the first six months of the year, up 3.48 percent from a year earlier.

After adjusting for inflation, average aggregate earnings rose 1.75 percent year on year to NT$370,914, the strongest first-half increase since 2017, when they rose 2.15 percent.

Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the DGBAS Census Department, attributed the gains in real wages to an increase in the minimum wage and employers' willingness to raise pay.

She added that consumer prices rose just 1.69 percent in the first half of the year, the slowest January-June increase in five years, which also helped boost real wage growth.

Despite the 2.88 percent increase in nominal average regular wages, about 70 percent of employees earned less than the national average during the period, the DGBAS said.

Average monthly regular wages in the hospitality and food/beverage sector were NT$34,754, while workers in other personal service industries, such as beauty salons, earned just NT$37,379, both below the national average.

By contrast, average monthly regular wages reached NT$58,173 in the electronic components sector and NT$74,369 in the financial and insurance sector, illustrating uneven wage growth across industries.

In June alone, average monthly regular wages rose 3.18 percent from a year earlier to NT$49,343, while average monthly earnings increased 6.53 percent to NT$60,267.

To provide a better indication of typical earnings, the DGBAS also released the median monthly regular wage, which stood at NT$39,453 in June, up 3.12 percent from a year earlier.

Tan said Taiwan faced renewed inflationary pressure after the consumer price index rose by more than the central bank's 2 percent alert level for a third consecutive month in July, driven in part by elevated global energy prices and tensions in the Middle East.

She warned that continued inflationary pressure could erode future gains in real wages.