Taiwan’s manufacturing overtime hours in August hit a 46-year high for the same month
Quick Look
- Data from the Taiwanese government’s Accounting and Accounting Office show that in August, Taiwan’s manufacturing industry worked an average of 17.7 hours of overtime per person, a record high for the same month in 46 years.
- Among them, AI-related industries are working overtime particularly significantly.
- Experts point out that the "K-shaped" differentiation of Taiwan's industry has intensified, and the gap between rich and poor and wage inequality have become increasingly serious.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Taiwan's manufacturing industry is driven by AI business opportunities, with overtime hours hitting a 46-year high for the same month. At the same time, the wage gap and uneven income distribution among industries in Taiwan continue to widen.
China News Service, Taipei, October 15 (Reporter: Lu Mei) The latest statistics released by the Taiwan authorities' Accounting and Accounting Office on the 15th showed that in August, Taiwan's manufacturing industry worked an average of 17.7 hours of overtime per person, a record high for the same month in 46 years. Among them, the electronic components manufacturing industry, which benefited from artificial intelligence (AI) business opportunities, worked an average of 28 hours of overtime per person, and the computer, electronic products and optical products manufacturing industry worked an average of 16.6 hours of overtime per person.
According to statistics, in the first eight months of this year, the average monthly working hours per person in Taiwan's manufacturing industry was 174.3 hours, ranking first among all industrial categories; if compared with the service industry, it was second only to the 175.1 hours in the support service industry (including labor supply, cleaning services, etc.). However, in terms of salary, the median monthly recurring salary in the manufacturing industry is NT$40,540, and that in the support service industry is only NT$35,079.
Salary statistics also show that the median recurring salary of all employees in Taiwan in August was 39,700 yuan, and the average recurring salary was 49,500 yuan. After adding non-recurring salaries such as bonuses, bonuses, and overtime pay, the average total salary reached 65,800 yuan. In the first half of this year, the proportion of Taiwanese employees with regular wages below the average has exceeded 70%.
Wu Zhongshu, chairman of the Taiwan Economic Research Institute, pointed out at a forum in Taipei on the 14th that industrial inequality in Taiwan is serious. In 2025, the gap in disposable income between the top 20% of households in Taiwan and the bottom 20% of households will reach 6.17 times, a 14-year high. The average annual salary of employees of listed semiconductor companies is 2.58 million yuan, while the average annual salary of tourism industry employees is only 543,500 yuan. In the future, the "K-shaped" differentiation of Taiwan's industries will become more obvious, which will also make social distribution more uneven and the wage gap wider, which may turn into a social governance problem.
Open Questions
- What policies will the government adopt to alleviate the K-shaped differentiation of the industry?
- Will the wage gap trigger a specific social governance crisis in the future?





