2026 First-Half Salary Statistics Released! Finance and Insurance Sector Exceeds NT$820,000; 'This Industry' Ranks Last Despite Year-Round Work

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics released the salary statistics for the first half of 2026 on the 10th. During this period, the finance and insurance sector recorded an average cumulative total salary of NT$826,830 per person, ranking first among all industries. In contrast, the education sector earned only NT$227,448—less than 30% of the finance and insurance figure.

Real estate expert Ho Shih-chang commented on the data, stating bluntly, 'Unless driven by ideals, one should avoid entering the private education sector.' He lamented that teachers, burdened with parents’ expectations of 'raising dragons and phoenixes,' are paid at the lowest end of the industrial pay scale.

What was the average salary in the first half of 2026?

According to the statistics released by the Directorate-General, the average monthly regular wage for all employees in the first half of 2026 was NT$48,981, a 2.88% increase from the same period last year. When including bonuses, overtime pay, and other non-regular compensation, the average cumulative total salary reached NT$411,786, up 3.48% year-on-year.

By industry, finance and insurance led with an average cumulative salary of NT$826,830 per person. Electricity and gas supply ranked second at NT$657,180, followed by electronic component manufacturing at NT$650,694.

How low is private education sector pay?

Ho Shih-chang posted on his Facebook page 'Ho Shih-chang’s Real Estate Knowledge Buffet+' that private education workers—including cram school teachers, kindergarten staff, and talent instructors—earned an average cumulative salary of only NT$227,448 in the first half, equivalent to approximately NT$37,908 per month, highlighting a stark gap compared to high-paying industries.

He described the situation as 'working hard all year only to earn less than half of what others make in six months,' adding emotionally: 'Unless you have immense compassion and a halo above your head, working in this industry is truly heartbreaking.'

Do famous cram school teachers earn well? Ho: Only a minority.

Ho acknowledged that a small number of star cram school teachers do earn substantial incomes, but emphasized this is the exception. Most educators cannot reach such levels, and the pay of a few celebrity teachers should not represent the entire industry.

He pointed out the irony: many parents, eager for their children to succeed, spend heavily on tutoring and extracurriculars, yet the teachers in classrooms who bear these high expectations receive the thinnest paychecks. 'How strange!' he remarked.

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