Executive Yuan Approves Minimum Wage Hike: NT$30,900 a Month and NT$205 an Hour From 2027, Benefiting Some 2.61 Million Workers
Taipei — The Executive Yuan on October 1 approved a new minimum wage package, the Central News Agency reported. Effective January 1, 2027, the monthly minimum wage will rise from NT$29,500 to NT$30,900, an increase of NT$1,400 or 4.745 percent, while the hourly minimum wage will go from NT$196 to NT$205, up NT$9. The monthly floor will exceed NT$30,000 for the first time, and the raise marks the 11th consecutive year the minimum wage has been increased after deliberation.
The package was decided on September 24 by the Ministry of Labor's Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee, which brings together labor, employer, academic and government representatives to set the following year's floor, subject to Executive Yuan approval. Labor Minister Hung Sun-han said the increase fully reflects consumer price inflation of about 2.07 percent, while noting that committee members debated whether, and how far, the fruits of economic growth should also be shared with workers. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics expects Taiwan's economy to grow 11.05 percent in 2026.
The labor ministry estimates that about 2.61 million workers will benefit, including roughly 2.2 million Taiwanese workers and some 414,400 migrant workers in industry and social welfare services. The hourly increase mainly helps part-time workers, young people in casual jobs and other hourly-paid staff. Live-in caregivers and domestic helpers are not covered, however, because they fall outside the Labor Standards Act; their terms are handled under separate social-welfare migrant worker policies. Premier Cho Jung-tai had publicly pledged in April to push the minimum wage past NT$30,000, and this approval formally carries the monthly floor across that mark. The minimum wage also serves as the basis for labor-insurance salary brackets and benefit calculations, so the related bands will be adjusted by law once the new floor takes effect, touching both employers' premium burdens and workers' insured benefits. With a preparation period before the 2027 start, the effects on business labor costs and prices will be watched closely.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 台北捷运站内扶梯旁的通勤人潮，Poppytarts 摄，CC0（Wikimedia Commons）
