A spike in COVID-19 infections appear to have had little impact on the local job market, as the number of job offers reached 1.01 million this month, growing 13 percent from January, a survey by the online 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) showed yesterday.
The uptrend suggested vibrant hiring activity, as Taiwanese companies are upbeat about business prospects even though domestic cases of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have exceeded 1,000 per day for the past few days, the online human resources firm said.
The development came after authorities in Taiwan focused on allowing economic activity to proceed with the least interruption, as more than 99 percent of Omicron patients display mild or no symptoms, the job bank said.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Labor Affairs Bureau
The number of companies with job openings soared 30 percent from 40,000 in January to 52,000 this month, it said.
A breakdown by sector showed electronics, software and semiconductor companies with the most job vacancies at 197,000, followed by 165,000 at hospitality service providers and 147,000 at traditional manufacturers, it said.
By occupation, food and beverage attendants, machinery and equipment operators, as well as business salespeople were in high demand, with vacancies of 130,000, 112,000 and 87,000 respectively, it said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker whose clients include Apple Inc and Intel Corp, has lowered its recruitment threshold from top-grade university graduates with master’s or doctorate degrees to candidates from all universities and colleges, it said.
To attract and retain talent, TSMC has reportedly offered a 10 percent pay raise for employees this year, IDC said, citing local Chinese-language media.
Similarly, chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) is hiring new engineers whose wages and perks could approach NT$2 million (US$68,423) a year, it said.
However, monthly wages for low-skilled equipment operators and product packagers fall somewhere between NT$31,000 and NT$35,000 at semiconductor manufacturing facilities, the job bank said.
Those willing to work graveyard shifts might earn an extra 30 to 50 percent, it said, but added that relatively few people are willing to work graveyard shifts for health and family reasons.
Hotels, restaurants and entertainment facilities have high turnover rates and are often in need of employees, it found.
Many hospitality facilities have not yet returned to business levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a lingering boom in domestic tourism, it said.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
RSS