34.8% of Companies Adjusted Wages in 2025, Highest in 25 Years, Expected to Rise Further This Year

Central News (CNA reporter Pan Zi Yu, Taipei, June 12) The demand for AI has surged, driving the performance of related industries. According to an analysis by the DGBAS, factors such as the raising of the minimum wage, the spread of AI business opportunities, and the activity of the stock market have led to an increase in the wage adjustment rate for 2025 to 34.8%, the highest in 25 years. It is estimated that the wage adjustment rate for this year may continue to set new highs. Today, the DGBAS released the 'Statistics on the Situation of Regular Wage Adjustments in the Industrial and Service Sectors in 2025,' revealing the situation of wage adjustments in the industrial and service sectors in 2025 and the planned wage adjustments for 2026. The DGBAS pointed out that 34.8% of companies adjusted their regular wages in 2025, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from 2024, and the highest record since 1990. The proportion of employees who received wage adjustments was 40.7%, the highest level in the past 15 years since 2015. Tang Wenling, Deputy Director of the Census Department of the DGBAS, analyzed that this wave of wage adjustment momentum has three main factors. The first is that the government raised the minimum wage, directly raising the wage level of grassroots employees. The second is that the demand for emerging technologies such as AI has increased, driving the revenue growth of the related industrial chain. When companies report good operating results, their willingness to adjust wages also increases. The third factor is that this wave of AI boom not only benefits related industries but also leads to a strong rise in the Taiwan stock market, and the activity of the stock market also benefits related industries such as finance and insurance. A closer look at the survey also reveals that the situation of wage adjustments is directly related to the size of the companies. The DGBAS pointed out that the larger the company, the more common it is to adjust regular wages, and the higher the ratio of employees who receive wage adjustments. The statistical results for 2025 show that 31.4% of companies with fewer than 9 employees adjusted wages, while those with more than 500 employees increased significantly to 85.2%. The ratio of employees whose regular wages were adjusted also increased with the size of the company, from 27% for companies with fewer than 9 employees to 61.9% for companies with more than 500 employees. In addition, 37.6% of companies in the industrial sector adjusted their regular wages in 2025, higher than the 33.8% in the service sector. As for the factors prioritized by companies in the industrial and service sectors in 2025 for adjusting regular wages, the most common was 'individual performance of employees' at 49.2%, followed by 'minimum wage adjustment' at 39.8%, and 'better profitability' at 35.9% ranking third. Due to the current economic boom, Tang Wenling said that the survey shows that as of the end of March this year, 31.4% of companies have already adjusted wages or plan to adjust wages (excluding wage increases due to seniority) in 2026. About 40% of companies have not yet decided, but given the current economic situation, it is 'certainly possible' that the wage adjustment rate will be higher than last year. (Editor: Lin Shuyuan) 1150612