Consumer Price Index 結果共13筆

Taiwan’s Consumer Price Index indicates a continued slowdown in inflation with a slight rise in March. The Central Bank revises its inflation forecasts as electricity and living costs surge. The public’s economic outlook remains cautiously optimistic.

Taiwan’s DGBAS reports a 4.47% year-on-year increase in medical costs for March, the highest in 18 years, due to the New Health Insurance Co-payment System. The March CPI showed a 2.14% year-on-year increase, with dining-out costs and essential commodity prices decreasing slightly. However, inflationary pressures persist in services like medical costs and rent.

Explore how Taiwan’s core inflation cycle has dramatically shortened from an average of 17.19 months to just under 8 months over recent years, leading to a significant shift in public perception towards inflation. This change is attributed to various factors, including the pandemic, geopolitical risks, and climate change, affecting the country’s inflation trend and resulting in a discrepancy between public feeling and official statistics.

Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Wang Mei-hua, addresses concerns over potential water and electricity price hikes. Wang assures no immediate plans for water price increases and remains cautious on addressing the issue. Legislators advocate against compounding effects of electricity rate hikes and warn of potential inflation spikes. Discussions continue on balancing household electricity costs and industry consumption subsidies.

Stay updated on Taiwan’s economic landscape with the latest news from Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua. Discover insights on electricity price fluctuations and their impact on domestic issues, as well as the government’s strategies to address losses incurred by Taiwan Power Company. Explore the projections for economic growth and inflation rates amidst industry recovery and upcoming events.

Taiwan’s Executive Yuan spokesman, Lin Tzu-lun, announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.71% in December 2023. Due to the CPI surpassing the legal threshold for two consecutive years, the government supports increasing stipends for retired military, civil, and education personnel by at least 4%. Fixed pension benefits for these individuals will be adjusted to account for inflation. The Executive Yuan has allocated NT$4.4 billion in the 2024 central government budget as a reserve fund for price fluctuations. The necessary adjustment mechanisms have been initiated, with a specialized assessment panel deliberating on the rate adjustment. The government aims to complete the related processes and backtrace the adjustments to January 1, 2024, to ensure the living standards of retired personnel.

The Taiwan Higher Education Union (THEU) has criticized the government for playing a false game with wage increases. While civil servants, including military and education personnel, are set to receive a 4 percent pay increase next year, over 21,000 technical and administrative staff at universities, about 70 percent, remain unsure of their raises. This uncertain group includes employees at private universities. The THEU believes that the government should not leave salaries of non-certified staff to the discretion of universities, as it causes division and lowers morale. Only around 9,000 public employees out of the approximately 31,000 full-time staff members at universities and colleges are certain about their pay rise next year. The THEU is concerned that the hardships of grassroots workers in tertiary education institutions are being overlooked amidst the upcoming presidential elections. They urge that national wage increases should apply to all university staff, with appropriate subsidies provided.

The Legislative Yuan has passed the Minimum Wage Bill in Taiwan, which requires employers to meet minimum wage standards when settling wages with employees. Noncompliance with this law could result in fines of up to NT＄1.5 million and public disclosure of the offender’s name. The new legislation mandates the inclusion of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as one of the key references when determining minimum wage, linking wage adjustments more closely with the cost of living. Previously, adjustments to the basic wage were governed by lesser regulations - the Deliberation Regulations for Basic Wage, which are merely administrative orders and do not guarantee annual wage increases. Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun welcomed the passage of this legislation, expressing gratitude to labor and employer groups, scholar experts, and legislators from all parties for their support. President Tsai Ing-wen had initially proposed the elevation of the Minimum Wage from an administrative order to the force of law in her 2016 policy plan, but it took seven years for the draft to make its way through the legislative process.

The Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) has revealed that EVA Airways pilots have experienced a more than 10% decrease in real wages since 2011, resulting in a nearly 10% loss of the national pilot workforce. TUP accuses EVA of collaborating with illegal brokers to recruit foreign pilots, potentially jeopardizing flight safety. EVA pilots have unanimously passed a resolution to proceed with a strike vote, with details to be announced soon. Despite EVA’s record-high pre-tax profit, pilot wages have been frozen since 2011. Last year, pilot salaries were marginally adjusted, failing to keep up with the rising Consumer Price Index, resulting in a real wage decrease of 10% to 12%. The per diem for pilots, unchanged for 30 years, saw a minimal increase last year. Over a hundred national pilots, mostly experienced, have left EVA in the past year. The union criticizes EVA for cost-cutting measures that have led to staff resignations and safety incidents. They are urging the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to intervene and are planning a potential legal strike.

The New Power Party (NPP) has called for stricter regulations on minimum labor wages, proposing that manufacturers who violate laws should be banned from government procurement. The NPP emphasizes equal representation in decision-making, with a ＂1:1:1＂ ratio of labor, capital, and government-academic parties. They argue that adjustments to the minimum wage should not fall below the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rate, linking wage increases to inflation and cost of living adjustments. NPP Chairwoman Claire Wang advocates for strict penalties, including adding violators to a government procurement blacklist. The NPP’s draft is inspired by France’s minimum wage laws, aiming to protect workers’ living standards in the face of rising costs.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator Lai Hsiang-ling has called for the inclusion of a formula in the Minimum Wage Act to guarantee that wage adjustments are not lower than the inflation rate. Meanwhile, New Power Party legislator Chiu Hsien-chih has demanded that representatives from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) be involved in the wage deliberation committee and that evaluation reports be made public before meetings. Lai has expressed concern about the lack of changes in the current draft of the Minimum Wage Act and the limited number of academic representatives on the committee. She has proposed increasing the number of labor representatives and considering factors such as the consumer price index annual increase rate, previous year levels, rent, and employment dependency ratios in annual wage adjustments. Lai has also suggested barring non-compliant small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from participating in government tenders.

Taiwan Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long addressed the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee, leaving open the possibility of further interest rate hikes. While rates in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Canada, and Australia are near their peak, Taiwan is approaching its high point. Previous inflation spikes were caused by typhoon impacts, leading to speculation about rate hikes. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3% in October. The Central Bank’s council members unanimously decided to temporarily halt rate raises, but some members agreed to suspend hikes for only one quarter, suggesting aggressive responses to future inflation are possible. Market watchers are observing whether interest rate hikes might resume in December if inflation surpasses 3%. Yang attributed the current inflation to typhoon impacts, particularly rising vegetable and fruit prices, and promised close observation of rate raises in the fourth quarter. Economic growth is expected to remain above 2% this year, but the fourth quarter may see a downward revision to 1%.

Since March, Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) exceeded 3% for five consecutive months, and in December, it was recorded to be at 2.71%.