TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A record number of 137,000 Taiwanese went to work in the US in 2024, partly as a result of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) investing in Arizona, reports said Wednesday.

According to data published by the government’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, 666,000 Taiwanese went to work overseas last year. The figure marked an increase of 45,000 over 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, per CNA.

Before the pandemic, only 2011 and 2015 recorded declines, with the number reaching 739,000 in 2019, the last full year before COVID-19. The pandemic, worsening US-China trade relations, and the shifting of global supply lines resulted in a drop to 319,000 Taiwanese working abroad in 2021.

Since 2022, the figure has been climbing again with the post-pandemic recovery and the growing overseas expansion of Taiwan businesses, the directorate general said. The launch by TSMC of fabs in the US and Japan caused their suppliers to follow them overseas, creating more job opportunities for Taiwanese.

While China, with Hong Kong and Macau, still accounted for 231,000 or 34.7% of Taiwanese working overseas, the proportion showed a steep decline from the 400,000 or 60% working there before the pandemic.

For 2024, the proportion of Taiwanese working in the US stood at 20.5% of the total, followed by Southeast Asia at 14.6%, and Japan and South Korea at 12% each.