Taipei: Newly employed graduates earned an average monthly wage of NT$39,000 (US$1,239) in 2025, marking a 5.4 percent increase from the previous year, with 17.2 percent receiving the minimum wage of NT$28,590, the Ministry of Labor stated on Friday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the data encompassed 138,000 graduates, with a significant majority (99.8 percent) having completed high school or higher education. Of these graduates, 73 percent possessed a college or university degree, while 21.5 percent held a master's degree.

The reported average wage was NT$2,000 higher than the previous year. University graduates earned an average of NT$36,000 per month. Health care and social work services offered the highest wages at NT$42,000, followed by the financial and insurance sector at NT$39,000.

For those with postgraduate degrees, the average monthly salary was NT$53,000. The highest paying sectors for these degree holders were publishing, audiovisual, and information and communications services, offering NT$61,000, followed closely by manufacturing at NT$60,000.

In terms of median wages, new graduates had a median monthly salary of NT$36,000, compared to NT$34,000 for college or university degree holders, and NT$51,000 for those with postgraduate degrees. The ministry noted that the similarity between median and average wages indicates that only a small percentage of individuals within each education level earn exceptionally high salaries.

On the lower end of the wage spectrum, 17.2 percent of new graduates, or approximately 24,000 individuals, were paid the minimum wage of NT$28,590, irrespective of their educational level.

The data also highlighted a gender wage gap among new graduates. In 2025, newly employed female graduates earned an average of NT$38,000 monthly, which is 90.8 percent of the NT$41,000 earned by male graduates, resulting in a 9.2 percent gender pay gap. This gap increased by 0.5 percentage points from 2024.

The most significant wage disparity was observed among postgraduate degree holders, at 12.1 percent, with female employees earning NT$49,000 compared to NT$56,000 for their male counterparts. The ministry attributed this gap to the male dominance in higher-paying science, technology, and engineering fields, where men constitute 65.1 percent of the workforce.