Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-12-01
Premier William Lai says the proportion of low-wage earners in the country is decreasing.
Proportion of low-wage earners decreasing: Lai (CNA photo)
Lai was speaking Friday, referring to people who earn less than NT$30,000 (US$1,000) per month.
Government figures say almost 9 million people were employed in May, earning an average of US$1,256 per month. Among them, nearly 34% brought home a paycheck of less than US$1,000, which is slightly lower than last year’s 36.7%.
Lai said the government’s top priority is to boost the economy and results have been achieved. The premier said, “This year’s economic growth is likely to stand at 2.5%, which is a departure from the under 1% registered in the past few years. This is the result of our joint efforts as the unemployment rate has also dropped to 3.75%. Although there has been no visible change in real wages, the average paycheck has increased. The proportion of earners making less than US$1,000 a month has dropped. Even though they account for nearly one third of the workforce, the figure has been on the decrease year by year if we take a look at the trend.” [SOURCE]