Taiwanese graduates enjoy higher starting salaries as economy improves: survey

TAIPEI - Taiwanese graduates are getting higher starting salaries than before as the recovering global economy boosts the island's economic growth, a survey showed Monday.

The starting salary for Taiwanese graduates this year grew by 6 percent year on year to reach 27,850 New Taiwan dollars (about $921) per month, the highest in seven years, according to a poll of 1,138 respondents by local human resource platform 1111 Job Bank.

Meanwhile, the gap between the actual starting salary and graduates' desired pay narrowed from 6,359 new Taiwan dollars in 2016 to 4,415 new Taiwan dollars this year, echoing improved demand for young professionals.

A leading think tank in Taiwan raised its latest forecast for the island's economic expansion this year from 2.14 percent to 2.18 percent as the recovering global economy bolsters the island's export sector.

Graduates in science and engineering, information technology and transport tend to enjoy higher starting salaries than their peers in architecture, design and art, the survey pointed out, citing growing export demand for electronics and an oversupply of design and art professionals.

Accordingly, the manufacturing, medicine and information technology sectors currently employ the majority of the island's graduates, the survey showed.