Taiwanese employers plan to give lowest pay hike in six years in 2018: survey

TAIPEI, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- About 55 percent of employers in Taiwan are planning to raise wages in 2018 by an average 3.7 percent, according to a recent survey.

The estimated 3.7 percent salary increase for 2018, based on survey of 866 respondents, was the lowest in six years of polling, according to local human resource platform 1111 Job Bank.

The 1111 Job Bank survey showed that among the roughly 55 percent of employers who plan to raise wages, 16.9 percent will give an across-the-board increase, while 37.6 percent will only raise wages for some employees.

The businesses that intend to raise pay include retail enterprises and companies in the information technology sector.

A similar survey by human resource platform yes123 showed that almost 80 percent of employers plan to raise wages by an average of 4.7 percent next year.

1111 Job Bank attributed its forecast to the cautious view by many of its respondents about pay hikes in light of the forecast slowdown of Taiwan's economic growth in 2018.

Taiwan's economic growth is expected to slow down from this year's estimated 2.64 percent to 2.43 percent in 2018 due to geopolitical uncertainties and U.S. trade and monetary policies, according to the island's top think tank. Enditem