Average wages in the local industrial and service sectors in the first 11 months of last year after adjustments for inflation grew 1.99 percent from a year earlier, the highest wage growth in six years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Friday.
Data compiled by the DGBAS showed that real average monthly wages — comprising regular wages, bonuses and overtime pay — in the two sectors stood at NT$56,614 (US$1,717) during the 11-month period, up from NT$55,507 in the same period a year ago.
DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said the 1.99 percent growth in real average monthly wages showed many employers were keen to give bonuses that reflected improving operations, which offset the impact of inflation.
Photo: CNA
The consumer price index rose 2.18 percent from a year earlier, above the 2 percent alert set by the central bank.
Average nominal wages in the same period rose 4.22 percent from a year earlier to NT$60,985, the data showed.
From January to November, real average monthly regular wages rose 0.55 percent from a year earlier to NT$43,076, while nominal average monthly regular wages rose 2.75 percent to NT$46,401, the data indicated.
In November alone, average regular wages rose 3.04 percent from a year earlier to NT$46,667, while average bonuses and overtime reached NT$8,845, lifting average overall wages to NT$55,512, up 6 percent, the DGBAS said.
In the same month, the median regular wage was NT$37,465, up 3.39 percent from a year earlier, it added.
The manufacturing sector, the lodging, food and beverage industry, and the retail and wholesale industry reported NT$44,429, NT$34,347 and NT$45,768 respectively in average regular wages during the 11-month period, all below the average of NT$46,401, the DGBAS said.
However, the electronic components industry in the manufacturing sector reported average regular wages of NT$55,349 in the 11 months, higher than the average, with the figures reported by the professional science and technology, audio and video publication, and financial industries also beating the overall average, the DGBAS added.
Meanwhile, the number of monthly overtime hours in the electronic components industry hit 26.2 hours in November, the second-highest for any month in more than 44 years, trailing only 27.1 hours in October.
Tan said the higher overtime hours in November came as strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications and high-performance computing devices, as well as peak season effects, pushed up production, which required more staffing.
In November, the number of overtime hours in the entire manufacturing sector reached 17.4 hours, the second-highest in eight years, behind only the 17.5 hours recorded in October, the DGBAS said.
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