The number of workers hired by the industrial and service sectors grew by 5,000 in May to 8,168,000, as hospitality operators raised their staff numbers, but manufacturers reduced their payrolls to cope with a business slowdown, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The latest data suggest a stable job market, although exporters continued to take a hit from weak end-market demand induced by global inflation and interest rate hikes, the statistics agency said.
The local job market saw a net increase of 5,000 people after factoring in new hires, the reinstatement of workers who had previously been laid off, people who quit their jobs and those who retired, it said.
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Hotels and restaurants added 3,000 workers, while manufacturers cut a similar number, the DGBAS said, adding that the pattern could continue for a while, as exports contracted last month at a steeper pace than the previous two months.
The accession rate — the number of new employees added to payrolls — dipped 0.04 percentage points to 2.1 percent, while the exit rate shrank 0.14 percentage points to 2.04 percent, the agency said.
The average monthly wage was NT$45,484 in May, up 2.84 percent year-on-year, but total wages including performance-based commissions, overtime and bonuses declined 0.18 percent to NT$55,099 a month, the DGBAS said.
Container shipping companies reported the highest average monthly wage of NT$82,736, followed by video content creators at NT$65,621 and financial and insurance companies at NT$65,415, the agency said.
In terms of total wages, shipping companies outperformed other sectors at an average of NT$297,565 in May, followed by electronic component makers at NT$181,507 and sand and gravel companies at NT$100,158, it said.
By contrast, preschool education facilities offered the lowest monthly wages of NT$29,831, followed by hairdressers at NT$31,087 and private bus companies at NT$31,842, the DGBAS said.
In the first five months, average wages and total wages grew 2.46 percent and 1.61 percent annually to NT$45,341 and NT$63,698 respectively, it said.
However, total wages shrank 0.81 percent after adjusting for inflation, as rising consumer prices wiped out the benefits of wage increases, it said.
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