Labor Market Summary
Taiwan’s GDP economic growth rate was 8.92% in the first quarter of 2021, adjusted by 0.76% in April, according to the data published by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan. The annual economic growth rate is estimated to be 5.46% in 2021. Reasons behind the strong economic growth in the beginning of the year include: the recovering global economy, demand for computing and telecommunication devices due to the growing development of 5G and high-performance computing, e-commerce and the “Stay-at-Home Economy.”
Due to restricted international traveling, Taiwanese consumers have shown strong purchase power overall in the market in the first quarter, from automobiles, luxury goods, mobile devices to retail, food and beverages. Meanwhile, many manufacturers are expanding their plants and production power, contributing 2.23% to the whole economic growth rate.
2021 End of July Job Openings Forecast (By Industry)
Source: The second survey of manpower needs by the Ministry of Labor in 2021
At the end of July, compared to the end of April, there will be an increase in labor demand with 64,000 headcounts in the Taiwanese labor market, according to the data released by the Ministry of Labor. Electronic components manufacturing leads the labor demands with 34,000 headcounts. The main reasons for these demands include company expansion (60.8%), replacing retirees (19.7%) and the expectation of a higher sales season.
Reasons for Increasing Manpower in the End of July.
Source: The second survey of manpower needs by the Ministry of Labor in 2021
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April 2021 was 3.71%, down by 0.39% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the population between 20- to 24-year-old saw an unemployment rate of 11.69%, the highest among all age groups. The reasons could be that it’s their first time searching for a job or they’re still adjusting themselves in the job market.
In mid-May, the COVID-19 alert in Taiwan rose due to third-level restrictions for at least two months, affecting companies across every sector. Compared to the pandemic situation in 2020, however, most companies have prepared themselves for possible lockdown or work-from-home anytime. This attitude has also been reflected in the hiring process: Companies that froze headcounts last year have continued their hiring process but postponed their decisions under the third-level alert.
This two-month third-level alert somehow implies that, no matter whether job seekers or companies, everyone should become familiar with, and prepared for, any possible digital scenes, such digital collaboration, remote management, virtual on-boarding and online interviews. Therefore, they could be ready for more uncertainties in the future. The pandemic has taught everyone a good lesson: the ones who have managed risks well can minimize external impacts.
Industry Outlook
Finance and Banking
Seeing active trading in the stock market, many banks have released financial consultant positions to sell various finance products. However, along with the COVID-19 third-level restrictions, the timeline of hiring decisions has been postponed. At the same time, many banks and securities firms have recently established high-end private banking departments, leading to increased demands for investment specialists. Lastly, the relief packages under the COVID-19 alert have also increased hiring demands for business loan specialists.
Hiring needs in the accounting sector remained flat in the second quarter and the hiring process slowed down. Even though firms are entering the budget planning phase in the third quarter, the uncertain COVID-19 development in Taiwan might weaken the hiring process.
Management Office and Human Resource
Openings in office management and human resources have been significantly affected by the third-level restrictions. Most hiring processes were cancelled since many companies preferred to utilize the current workforce to overcome the challenges of this special time.
Sales and Marketing
Salesperson openings that are required to meet with clients in person were mostly cancelled and the hiring process is postponed. Meanwhile, the marketing sector keeps releasing openings in the social media, integrated marketing and O2O channel marketing, due to booming markets of e-commerce and the “Stay-at-Home Economy.”
Demands for different marketing professionals are expected to continue in the second half of 2021. Marketing professionals could start to break through the industry limits and develop themselves in various skills.
Retail
E-commerce and the “Stay-at-Home Economy” kept leading the consumer market, which led to hiring activities related to online sales and order analysis and management professionals. Brick-and-mortar retailers, however, have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 third-level restrictions. They either shortened their open hours or turned to online platforms to sell products.
Experiencing the COVID-19 local impact, many Taiwanese retailers have renewed their operation strategies, such as online selling, online trainings and operation scales adjustments. From selling offline to online, however, retailers still need a completely structured and well-designed e-commerce platform to retain their customers.
In the third quarter, if the COVID-19 situation is under control, many marketing teams in retail will definitely launch multiple campaigns to push sales. Last, retailers are suggested to focus on adjusting strategies and training employees for transformation, in order to respond well to the market in the post-pandemic period.
Merchandising and Logistics
Services like UberEats and Foodpanda have become popular among Taiwanese consumers, with increased hiring demands for logistics planning and management, and warehouse building and management.
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Before the third-level alert, pharmaceuticals and the healthcare sector released many openings for salespeople. Impacted by the COVID-19 situation, most companies then decided to stop or postpone their hiring.
In the long-term, the COVID-19 situation won’t influence the labor market in this sector too much. The whole pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors in Taiwan are still booming.
Manufacturing
The recovering market needs in manufacturing were gone since the COVID-19 third-level alert in Taiwan. It might return when the situation is under control. Furthermore, while the petrochemical industry released some openings, its whole hiring direction remains unclear.
Because the international economy is slowly bouncing back, most companies that focus on exporting were not much impacted by the COVID-19 alert. For example, bike companies saw sales growth due to the growing demands around the globe and released openings in front-line and component supplies. Automobile companies were bouncing back in the second quarter and actively hiring engineers and R&D engineers.
Meanwhile, many manufacturers were expanding their plants, increasing demand for civil engineering engineers, electrical engineers, project managers and environmental safety professionals. Last, wind energy and its ecosystem in middle Taiwan were hiring maintenance, marine engineers and components supply management professionals.
In the third quarter, sectors including automobiles, bikes and wind energy will keep releasing openings for engineers in different fields. Labor shortage for front-line workers in factories, however, still remains a problem due to international travel restrictions and the lack of will of local Taiwanese to work in factories. Companies are suggested to invest in industrial automation as they look for laborers, in order to tackle the long-term problem.
Technical Manufacturing
Focusing on exports, sales of semiconductor and electronics sectors weren’t much affected by the COVID-19 alert in Taiwan. However, the restrictions of social distancing at work and some confirmed cases in a couple of companies did influence their operation and shift arrangement. Overall, the technology manufacturing sector still released stable openings in the second quarter such as front-line workers and engineers.
If the pandemic is under control in Europe and the U.S. in the third quarter, the operation of technology manufacturers in Taiwan should not be affected by the local situation. Furthermore, the global COVID-19 vaccination rate and the economy recovery will influence the export amount of Taiwan’s semiconductors, chips and wafers. The last deciding factors of the coming quarter are the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan and the travel restrictions of foreign workers.
We suggest companies utilize third-party resources more for strategic hiring for the current labor shortage. At the same time, companies must start implementing automation and artificial intelligence technologies for long-term development.
Information Technology
Most IT companies in Taiwan have experienced the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has helped them switch from work-in-office to work-from-home without pain. Around 90% software companies weren’t affected by the COVID-19 alert in Taiwan, retained their hiring processes and finished virtual on-boarding via electronic signatures and delivering work-from-home devices. Another 10% that insisted personal interviews or sales dropped have postponed their hiring activities.
Companies such as online gambling, retailers going online, telecommunications and software will release more openings in the third quarter. Since every sector is embracing software technologies, software engineers, of course, can still obtain job opportunities in various sectors.
As remote work becomes part of the normality, how to retain job involvement or corporation identity and how to keep self-discipline and perform time management will be the biggest challenges for professionals in this field.
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