TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Ministry of Labor announced Tuesday (April 30) that the average starting salary for university graduates entering the workforce is NT$35,000.
The highest starting salaries are in the healthcare and social work sectors, averaging NT$38,000, followed by the finance and insurance industry at NT$36,000. For postgraduates, the manufacturing industry offers the highest starting salary of NT$57,000, with the publishing, audiovisual, and information and communication industries coming in second at NT$56,000.
The total number of new entrants to the workforce in 2023 was 156,000, a decrease of 13,000 or 7.7% from 2022. More than half of these new workers, 53.1%, took jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises, with only 46.9% finding employment in large corporations, government agencies, schools, and other non-SMEs.
Compared to 2022, the most significant increase in starting salaries for university graduates was in the accommodation and food services industry, up 6.4% or NT$2,000. For postgraduates, the wholesale and retail sector saw the most significant increase, up 4.3% or NT$2,000.
Despite this increase, the accommodation and food services industry still had the lowest average monthly salary for new workers in 2023, at NT$31,000, a figure matched by postgraduate entrants.
In 2023, 18.4% of new workers found jobs in the manufacturing industry. However, due to a cooling global economy, unpaid leave in the industry remained high, leading to a more conservative hiring approach and a decrease of 3.9 percentage points.
The healthcare and social work sectors were the second most popular for new workers, employing 11.8% of the total, followed by professional scientific and technical services at 9.1%, accommodation and food services at 8.1%, and education at 7.8%.
According to the Ministry of Labor, university graduates who studied medicine, health, and social welfare had the highest average starting salary of NT$38,000, followed by education at NT$37,000. Postgraduates who studied information and communication technology had the highest average starting salary of NT$57,000, followed by engineering, manufacturing, and construction at NT$55,000.
