The number of migrant workers in Taiwan reached 706,060 in April, with more than 90 percent of them from Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data showed on Saturday.
More than 271,000, or 38.4 percent of migrant workers, were from Indonesia followed by Vietnamese (221,000, 31.4 percent) and Filipinos (154,000, 21.8 percent), the data showed.
Total migrant workers exceeded 700,000 for the first time in October last year, when there were 703,162.
Photo: Wang Han-ping, Taipei Times
The data showed that 259,144, or 36.7 percent, worked in domestic care and services, while 446,916, or 63.3 percent, worked in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and other roles.
Most migrant workers in the manufacturing, agricultural and construction sectors were in Taoyuan — more than 91,000 — while Taichung had 78,000 and New Taipei City 56,000, the data showed.
Taipei had the highest number working as carers or doing similar work with 44,000, while New Taipei City had 43,000.
Migrant workers reported as missing or working at jobs other than what they were legally contracted to do totaled 51,982, or 7.4 percent, National Immigration Agency data showed.
In related news, police in Taichung yesterday detained 10 people at the ASEAN Square shopping mall in Central District (中區) near the Taichung Railway Station.
Seven Thais — five men and two women — one Indonesian woman and two Vietnamese men were questioned about their employment and visa status, police said.
Control Yuan members last year said that officials from the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Health and Welfare should be held accountable for a lack of long-term planning and negligent supervision amid a surge in hiring of foreign workers without proper documentation.
“Reports of missing migrant workers have increased each year, creating public security concerns,” the Control Yuan said in a report.
“The percentage of migrant workers convicted of criminal activity has also risen, especially for assault, endangering public safety, narcotics activities, illegal logging and poaching,” the report said.
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