Taiwan employees get highest-ever year-end bonus

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said NT$70,513 (US$2,478) equates to 1.64 months of an employee’s average monthly salary. 

The amount was higher than 2019’s NT$69,577 (US$2,445). The average year-end bonus was calculated by combining all non-regular wages, such as bonuses, that employees received from December last year to February this year, it said. 

It is customary for companies in Taiwan to give year-end bonuses to their employees in preparation for the Lunar New Year, which fell on February 12 this year.  

DGBAS deputy director Chen Hui-hsin said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bug some local industries, while other sectors have recovered. The three sectors which gave out the highest year-end bonuses in 2020 were finance and insurance (3.92 months), real estate (2.39 months) and manufacturing (1.82 months). 

As the number of property transactions rose in the second half of last year, real-estate companies gave their employees significantly higher year-end bonuses (2.39 months), up from those in 2019 (1.84 months) – and the highest since 2009. 

The sectors hardest-hit by the pandemic distributed the lowest year-end bonuses, including the hospitality and food and beverage industries (0.49 months), as well as arts, entertainment and recreation venues (0.46 months). 

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At the end of February, Taiwan had 8.15 million employees, an increase of 18,000 compared to that a year ago, said DGBAS. 

DGBAS data also showed that the average monthly regular salary in January and February this year was NT$42,976, an increase of 1.77% year-on-year, according to CNA.