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.
TECH SECURITY: The deal assures that ‘some of the most sought-after technology on the planet’ returns to the US, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said The administration of US President Joe Biden finalized its CHIPS Act incentive awards for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), marking a major milestone for a program meant to bring semiconductor production back to US soil. TSMC would get US$6.6 billion in grants as part of the contract, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. Though the amount was disclosed earlier this year as part of a preliminary agreement, the deal is now legally binding — making it the first major CHIPS Act award to reach this stage. The chipmaker, which is also taking up to US$5 billion
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
TRADE WAR: Tariffs should also apply to any goods that pass through the new Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru, an adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump said A veteran adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump is proposing that the 60 percent tariffs that Trump vowed to impose on Chinese goods also apply to goods from any country that pass through a new port that Beijing has built in Peru. The duties should apply to goods from China or countries in South America that pass through the new deep-water port Chancay, a town 60km north of Lima, said Mauricio Claver-Carone, an adviser to the Trump transition team who served as senior director for the western hemisphere on the White House National Security Council in his first administration. “Any product going
CARBON REDUCTION: ‘As a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, we recognize our mission in environmental protection,’ TSMC executive Y.P. Chyn said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday launched its first zero-waste center in Taichung to repurpose major manufacturing waste, which translates into savings of NT$1.5 billion (US$46 million) in environmental costs a year. The environmental cost savings include a carbon reduction benefit of 40,000 tonnes, equivalent to the carbon offset of over 110 Daan Forest Parks, the chipmaker said. The Taichung Zero Waste Manufacturing Center is part of the chipmaker’s greater efforts to reach its net zero emissions goal in 2050, aligning with the UN’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal. The center could reduce TSMC’s outsourced waste processing
RSS