The average monthly wage in the local semiconductor industry is the second-highest among 63 industries in Taiwan, trailing only the computer and consumer electronics industry, online human resource firm 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) reported on Monday last week.
The average monthly wage at chipmakers was NT$54,729 (US$1,823), second only to the average of NT$56,531 in the computer and consumer electronics industry, the job bank said in a white paper on talent in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
However, average monthly wages at local chipmakers increased 4.7 percent year-on-year, topping a 3.7 percent average wage rise in the electronics and information segment and a 3.5 percent wage increase in the computer and consumer electronics industry, the white paper said.
Photo: CNA
The job bank said the 4.7 percent increase in the semiconductor industry reversed a 0.4 percent year-on-year decline last year.
Jason Chin (晉麗明), senior vice president of 104’s Headhunter Business Group, said that about 30 foreign tech firms, including Amazon.com Inc, Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp, have set up research and development centers in Taiwan, and competition for semiconductor talent has increased.
Chin said it was no surprise that semiconductor firms have become more willing to provide higher incentives to attract talent with 10 to 20 percent pay raises for specialists in critical semiconductor materials.
The job bank said major semiconductor firms such as contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) have launched massive hiring campaigns, competing for talent.
Under such circumstances, an entry-level employee with a graduate degree in engineering from a Taiwanese university would receive NT$2 million in annual pay in the chip sector, it said.
An engineer with three years of work experience in the semiconductor industry would receive more than NT$3 million annually, while a mid-level manager would receive at least NT$5 million, the job bank added.
The job bank said semiconductor talent in northern Taiwan received the highest average wage of NT$57,000 a month, while the average industry wage was NT$50,000 in southern Taiwan and NT$49,000 in central Taiwan.
The industry’s average wage grew 7.1 percent in southern Taiwan, 5 percent in the north and 3.6 percent in central Taiwan, it said.
Chin said southern Taiwan topped the growth charts because major semiconductor suppliers, including TSMC, have been investing there and are willing to offer more attractive pay to build a talent pool.
As a result, the wage gap between the north and the south has narrowed, Chin said.
The wealth management industry came in third in the job bank’s ranking, with an average monthly salary of NT$51,218, followed by the footwear and textile industry with NT$50,987 and the software and Internet industry with NT$50,895.
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