TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s real average monthly regular wages rose 1.4% from January to April, the fastest growth since 2020, as stronger business conditions helped pay outpace inflation, CNA reported Friday.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said average real regular wages in the industry and services sector reached NT$44,115 (US$1,395) in the first four months of the year.
Real wages measure pay after inflation is removed, showing whether workers’ purchasing power has improved. They are calculated by dividing nominal wages by the consumer price index and multiplying the result by 100. Nominal wages are the pay workers receive before price changes are removed, while the consumer price index measures changes in the cost of goods and services.
Inflation-adjusted aggregate earnings rose 1.99% from January to April to NT$260,924, the fastest growth since 2018. Aggregate earnings include regular monthly pay as well as overtime pay, performance bonuses, holiday bonuses, year-end bonuses, and other one-time payments.
In April, average regular wages reached NT$49,146, up 2.9% from a year earlier. The agency said this was the second-fastest April growth in 27 years, showing that base pay continued to rise at a solid pace.
Average total wages in April reached NT$57,486 after overtime and bonuses were included. The median regular wage, which better reflects what most workers earn because it is less affected by very high salaries, was NT$39,348, up 3.17% from a year earlier.
The statistics agency said consumer prices rose 1.35% from January to April, below the Central Bank’s 2% alert level. Deputy census department head Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said government price-stabilizing measures and continued wage growth helped real wages rise.
CNA reported that the agency also said 34.8% of employers raised regular monthly pay last year, the highest share in 25 years. The share was up 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier, pointing to a wider recovery in wage-setting across companies.
The number of workers who received regular pay raises also increased. They accounted for 40.7% of all workers, the highest level in nearly 15 years.
Tan said the pay increases were mainly driven by the higher minimum wage, rising demand linked to artificial intelligence, and a strong stock market. She said better business results improved corporate cash flow and made companies more willing to raise wages.
Meanwhile, larger companies were more likely to raise pay than smaller firms. Among companies with nine or fewer workers, 31.4% raised regular wages, while the share reached 85.2% among companies with 500 or more workers.
The industry sector also showed stronger wage momentum than the services sector. The agency said 37.6% of industrial companies raised regular wages, compared with 33.8% of service companies.
