Labor Market Summary
Taiwan’s economic growth rate was 5.09% in the fourth quarter of 2020, adjusted by 0.15%, according to the data published by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan. The annual economic growth rate was 3.11% in 2020 and is estimated to be at 4.64% in 2021.
With the continually booming technology and e-commerce under social distancing, as well as the recovering demands for traditional industries, the amount of exporting products in Taiwan, such as electronic parts and information communication products, has increased by 11.73% from the previous year as estimated bin US dollars.
The “Stay at Home Economy” keeps accelerating in Taiwan, boosting an increase in annual sales by 2.42% and 1.15% in retail and food and beverage industries, respectively. At the same time, the stock market was active throughout the period with an increase of 72.23% of the listed stock trading value. Even though international travel is still limited, total domestic consumption increased by 4.29% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
2021 End of April Job Openings Forecast (By Industry)
Source: The first survey of manpower needs by the Ministry of Labor in 2021
New booming businesses and the under-control COVID-19 situation in Taiwan have, therefore, increased demands in the workforce. At the end of April, compared to the end of January, there will be an increase of labor demand with 50,000 headcounts in the Taiwanese market according to the data released by the Ministry of Labor. Workforce demands in manufacturing, such as mechanical device operation and assembly workers, will be the main drive in the labor market. The main reasons for the demands include company expansion (69.2%), long-term labor shortage (12%) and replacing retirees (11.8%).
Reasons for Increasing Manpower in the End of April.
Source: The first survey of manpower needs by the Ministry of Labor in 2021
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January 2021 was 3.75%, remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, the population between 20- to 24-year-old faced an unemployment rate of 11.96%, the highest among all age groups.
Digital transformation might become the investment field focus for companies across sectors in Taiwan. Many have already invested in related resources, reviewed company operations and started hiring digital specialists. However, it’s still at the very beginning phase. Newly invested systems aren’t prepared for operation and the Taiwanese workforce lacks professionals with digital transformation experience and skills. Many challenges must still be tackled.
Another big focus of the Taiwanese market is the semiconductor eco-system. With the initial completion of the southern factory site from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), demands on civil engineers, factory operators and engineers have significantly increased. Due to international travel limitations, however, many companies cannot recruit front-line workers from other countries and are facing serious labor shortage. Suggestions include talent incubator programs, automated manufacturing and co-hiring in the eco-system in order to increase human resource flexibility.
Lastly, although many Taiwanese companies have entered the international market and more and more international firms are establishing branches in Taiwan, foreign language skills of the Taiwan workforce require critical improvements. For all professionals, learning a second language is still the priority in the fast-changing labor market, in addition to gaining new digital skills.
Industry Outlook
Finance and Banking：
At the beginning of 2021, more and more international finance firms have centralized their accounting businesses in one country as the single service location in the Asia-Pacific region. This has resulted in decreased demands for finance and banking professionals in Taiwan. Only demands like replacing retirees have occurred in the last quarter.
Management Office and Human Resource
The first and second phase of the southern factory site of TSMC has been completed, attracting material and detector suppliers to also establish branches in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. In order to fulfill the hiring demands of these companies, the demand for human resource specialists has increased at the same time.
Moreover, companies’ progress in digital transformation are proactively hiring human resource specialists in training and education, in order to meet their digital skill training goals for the near future.
Sales and Marketing：
Due to a later schedule of Lunar New Year and domestic COVID-19 cases in the first quarter of 2021, companies’ hiring schedules have been postponed in the Sales and Marketing field. With more physical retailers going online, there will be increased demands for digital marketing specialists in the second quarter. 。
Furthermore, B2B manufacturing firms are transforming and moving to online selling due to cancelled trade shows worldwide. Sales and Marketing specialists are asked to possess more skills, including online selling, social media management and online activities hosting.
Retail
Because of the international travel limits and Lunar New Year holidays, the luxury retail industry achieved bright sales performance in the first quarter of 2021. Newly established shopping malls and outlets in southern Taiwan have also increased the demands for operation managers, management trainees and front-line staffs. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has, on one hand, accelerated many food-and-beverage companies to join food delivery platforms, and on the other hand, minimized front-end staff demands in the hotel industry.
In the second quarter, many Taiwanese retailers are expected to invest more in e-commerce, increasing demands for digital marketing specialists and managers.
Merchandising and Logistics：
Recent logistic services, such as UberEats and Uber, will remain popular among Taiwanese consumers. Therefore, the labor market will still show demands for logistics, supply chain and warehouse management specialists in related fields in the second quarter of 2021.
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Due to the aging society and rising individual awareness of health, the whole pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry in Taiwan, especially in the medical equipment market, saw increasing consumer needs and workforce demands. Both domestic and international firms have proactively recruited talents in clinical trials and sales & market. This demand will continue in the second quarter. Especially, international medical equipment companies will increase the hiring of sales and marketing people to expand their businesses in Taiwan.
Manufacturing
The COVID-19 pandemic is influencing the manufacturing industry in Taiwan, both positively and negatively.
Because of changing customer behaviors, bicycles and sport equipment markets maintained their booming performance until the first quarter of 2021, increasing the demands for operation workers and supply chain quality management engineers. Orders in the automotive industry have also increased in the last quarters, activating the hiring activities again. With the recent announcement of Foxconn Technology Group joining the electric car market, some electronic module firms started to expand operations in southern Taiwan. Meanwhile, most of the machine tool and steel manufacturing companies were still facing the low points of headcount freeze and unpaid leave.
Looking into the second quarter, the market of automotive parts and battery modules is expected to grow. The growing electric bicycles market needs and the hiring demand are also worth observing. Lastly, the machine tool market is expected to see increasing product need in the next quarter.
Technical Manufacturing
The completion of the first and second phase of TSMC’s southern factory site has boosted hiring demands in the semiconductor industry in southern Taiwan. Hiring openings include equipment, process and R&D engineers and explosive needs of front-end operation workers. However, due to international travel limits, the current workforce in Taiwan cannot meet the market needs, resulting in a serious labor shortage in technical manufacturing. On the other hand, semiconductor and consumer electronics companies received a great number of orders in the last quarter, releasing demands for operators, process engineers and quality management specialists.
In the second quarter of 2021, the whole technical manufacturing market will remain stable. Taiwan, which produces a significant amount of chips, will be in a critical position in the international technology war. The labor demands around TSMC will also remain the focus of the market.
Since many are actively looking for talents, companies could strategically increase hiring channels, such as social media, hiring events and internal referral, to expose themselves to various job seekers. They should even plan for the long-term, including enhancing training and third-party hiring, to fulfill the workforce needs. Under labor shortage, companies could also start to adapt automated manufacturing for a higher flexibility in labor need changes.
Information Technology
The start-up market in Taiwan recovered in the first quarter of 2021 with increasing hiring demands for software engineers. Plus, due to the under-controlled COVID-19 situation, people were more willing to switch jobs, activating the labor market in information technology.
In the second quarter, the hiring market will remain active; trends like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence will remain in focus; and start-ups and other software companies will keep stimulating the labor market.
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