The average monthly regular wage in August rose by 3.08 percent from a year earlier to NT$46,751 (US$1,453), while the average total monthly wage — including overtime pay, performance-based commissions and bonuses — spiked by 6.02 percent to NT$59,420, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The statistics agency attributed the growth mainly to firms’ willingness to offer better compensation to attract and retain employees.
Its observation received support from the median wage — a more accurate reflection of typical earnings, as it is not skewed by extreme high or low wages — which stood at NT$37,502 in August, an annual increase of 3.77 percent, DGBAS data showed.
Photo: CNA
Employees at financial and insurance companies on average had the highest total monthly wages at NT$119,709, trailed by NT$107,620 at electronics vendors and NT$104,957 at electricity suppliers, the agency said, citing wage statistics in the first eight months.
By contrast, non-school education facilities had the lowest total monthly wages of NT$34,766, followed by hotels and restaurants at NT$39,140, and alternative services providers at NT$40,489, it said, but added that the figures were a noticeable improvement from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era.
Male workers had a median monthly wage of NT$38,830, which was about 10 percent higher than their female counterparts at NT$35,136, suggesting a pickup of 3.25 percent and 2.95 percent respectively, the DGBAS said.
People aged between 50 and 64 have higher median regular pay at NT$42,008 per month, much better than people under 30 years old at NT$31,033, the agency said, adding that experience and seniority helped.
However, people aged older than 65, most of whom re-entered the workforce after retirement, had a median pay of NT$37,286, it said.
The average monthly wage was highest among people with graduate diplomas at NT$62,792, followed at a distant second by people with junior college or university degrees at NT$39,129, lending support to the belief that investment in education pays off, the DGBAS said.
Meanwhile, the industrial and service sectors added 2,000 personnel, so the overall number of workers grew 0.03 percent to 8.47 million, the agency said.
Overtime increased by 0.9 hours to 8.7 hours, as the high season for technology products approaches.
In the first eight months, headline regular monthly wages gained 2.66 percent to NT$46,331, while overall compensation bounced by 4.27 percent to NT$63,261, it said.
The data represented upticks of 0.35 percent and 1.92 percent respectively after adjustments for inflation, it added.
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