Taiwan’s AI boom is showing up in the overtime data

Overtime hours in Taiwan’s electronic components industry hit a record high for June, as sustained global demand tied to AI continued to lift orders for local manufacturers, according to figures released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Employees in the sector worked an average of 28.7 hours of overtime during the month – the highest June figure since records began in 1980, and more than three times the national average of 9.1 hours across the industrial and service sectors. Overtime in the computer and optoelectronics industry also set a June record at 17.7 hours.

The DGBAS attributed the increase to a surge in orders for Taiwanese technology firms driven by continued global enthusiasm for AI, which has prompted employers to lean more heavily on overtime. The agency noted that overtime hours serve as a barometer of activity within the sector.

Outside the electronics cluster, the picture was steadier. Average overtime in manufacturing stood at 18 hours in June, up 0.5 hours year on year but down 0.3 hours in May. Across the industrial and service sectors, overtime averaged 9.1 hours, an increase of 0.5 hours from a year earlier and a decrease of 0.2 hours from the previous month.

For H1 2026, the national average overtime reached 9.1 hours, up 0.4 hours year on year, while manufacturing averaged 17.8 hours, an increase of 0.8 hours.

Total working hours moved in the opposite direction over the same period. Average monthly working hours in the industrial and service sectors came to 163.1 hours in the January-June period, down 2 hours from a year earlier. June alone recorded 171.2 hours, a month-on-month rise of 5 hours.

Headcount continued to expand modestly. Employment in the industrial and service sectors totalled 8.58 million at the end of June, up 10,000 or 0.12% from the end of May, with manufacturing posting the largest monthly gain at 4,000 additional jobs.

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Within manufacturing, hiring platforms diverged along the same lines as the overtime data. Employment in the electronic components industry grew 0.6% month on month and the computer and optoelectronics industry added 0.27%. Over the same period, the rubber and plastic products industry shed 0.37% of its workforce and the plastics industry declined 0.13%.

Tan Wen-ling, Deputy Director of the DGBAS Census Department, said the employment declines in some traditional industries indicated that conditions in those sectors still needed time to improve, reported Focus Taiwan.