Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-06
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced today the latest international labor statistics for 2015, which 
showed a decrease in annual average working hours, from 2,135 hours in 2014, to 2,104 hours in 2015, a decrease of 31 hours. Meanwhile, Taiwan fell in the global ranking of average working hours, dropping from third to fourth place.
The statistics shows a decrease in average working hours as well as overtime hours, with a 3.5% reduction in overtime hours compared to 2014, the MOL said.
The average worker works longer hours in Asian countries than in Western countries. Singaporeans worked the longest in 2015 at 2,371 hours, followed by Mexico with 2,246 hours, Korea with 2,113 hours, and Taiwan with 2,104 hours. Japanese and American workers worked for approximately 1700 to 1800 hours, while European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Germany worked the least at no more than 1,500 hours.
According to the MOL, due to the low percentage of part-time employees in Taiwan, as well as differences in corporate culture, most Taiwanese workers do not use up all of their annual leave, resulting in higher average working hours. [FULL STORY]
