Taipei: The growth in average regular wages for workers in Taiwan’s industrial and service sectors surpassed inflation for the 13th consecutive month in April, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

According to Focus Taiwan, the data compiled by the DGBAS showed that the average nominal regular wage in Taiwan stood at NT$47,807 (US$1,598) in April, marking a 3.22 percent increase from the previous year. After accounting for inflation, the average real regular wage in April increased by 1.16 percent from a year earlier, reaching NT$43,727.

Speaking with reporters, Tan Wen-ling, deputy director of the agency’s Census Department, noted that despite inflationary pressures, employees were primarily concerned about the average real wage. Tan highlighted that Taiwan’s wage growth continued to outpace inflation, with the average real regular wage growth reaching its highest level for April in nearly five years. Furthermore, April marked the 13th consecutive month where average wage growth exceeded consumer price increases.

In April, average earnings, which consist of regular wages and non-regular income such as bonuses and overtime pay, rose to NT$55,546, up 3.3 percent from the previous year. During the first four months of the year, average nominal regular wages in Taiwan totaled NT$47,523, reflecting a 3.08 percent increase, with average real regular wages reaching NT$43,519, up 0.9 percent from the previous year, as reported by the DGBAS.

In April, Taiwan’s consumer price index experienced a 2.03 percent growth from the previous year, while the CPI growth for the January-April period stood at 2.15 percent. On Wednesday, the DGBAS also released the median wage figures, which are considered to better reflect the job market’s reality.

According to the DGBAS, the average median wage in Taiwan increased by 3.05 percent from the previous year to NT$38,208 in April. Similarly, the average median wage for the four-month period rose by 3 percent to NT$38,116, with growth after inflationary adjustments up 0.82 percent from a year earlier, also outpacing inflation.

In the first four months, the average median wage for male employees climbed by 3.27 percent from the previous year to NT$39,922, while for female employees, it increased by 3.17 percent to NT$36,046. Meanwhile, the DGBAS’s data revealed that the average overtime working hours in the local export-oriented manufacturing sector totaled 16.7 hours over the four months. In April alone, these hours reached a new high in the past eight and a half years, increasing by 1.6 hours from the previous year to 17.8 hours.

In the electronics component industry, overtime working hours peaked at 26.5 hours during the four-month period, the highest level since records began in June 1980, as stated by the DGBAS. Tan noted that these increases were partly due to the impact of the Trump administration’s tariff policies, which prompted many foreign buyers to place orders ahead of schedule.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially announced “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2 on countries with high trade surpluses with the United States. This included a 32 percent import duty on goods from Taiwan, although Trump announced a 90-day pause a week later to allow negotiations for a reduced levy.

In April, average overtime pay reached NT$2,423, marking a new six-month high, according to the DGBAS. Additionally, the DGBAS reported that about 33.9 percent of companies in Taiwan raised wages for their employees in 2024, the highest in 24 years.

Despite uncertainties arising from U.S. tariff policies, the DGBAS mentioned that more companies in Taiwan are likely to increase wages this year, as sales and earnings in the first half of the year have been rising.