Companies in Taiwan review compensation packages

This was a significantly higher ratio than in the previous two years, but far below levels seen before the pandemic.

These companies plan to raise wages, performance-based compensation, and bonuses to recruit and retain workers, as inflationary pressures gain momentum and push wages growth into negative territory, revealed a new survey by online job bank Yes123.

Government data last week showed that real average wages in the first four months shrank 0.23% from a year earlier to NT$41,605 (US$1,402) after factoring in consumer price increases.

The pay raise ratio is steeper than last year’s 18.5% increase and the 32.4% rise in 2020, as technology firms benefited from a surge in demand for devices used in remote working and learning.

However, the proportion fell far below the 54.4% recorded for the same period in 2019, suggesting there is still room for a full recovery. The pace of pay increases averaged 3.9%, with 12% of firms reporting increases of more than 10%, the survey found.

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Furthermore, 36.3% of the companies polled intend to issue bonuses and rewards in the second half of the year, higher than the 25.3% that did last year and 29.3% in 2020, but lower than 47.2% in 2019, according to Taipei Times.