Survey shows almost 87 percent of employers to issue year-end bonuses

RECOVERING GENEROSITY:：1111 Job Bank said the increased willingness by employers to dole out year-end bonuses was a result of the improving economy

Staff writer, with CNA

Sat, Jan 31, 2015 - Page 13

Almost 87 percent of employers in Taiwan will provide year-end bonuses to their employees, according to the results of a survey released yesterday.

Citing the survey, Taipei-based 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) said that 86.53 percent of the 540 polled employers said that they would issue year-end bonuses to their employees, as the Chinese-speaking world prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which will begin on Feb. 18.

It marks the highest level since 2006, when 94.72 percent of employers said they would give year-end bonuses.

The job bank said that the higher willingness of employers to issue year-end bonuses largely reflects a recovery in both the domestic and global economies, which has strengthened many corporations’ bottom lines.

Before the survey was released, the government released an advance estimate, saying that that Taiwan’s GDP grew 3.51 percent last year, beating its previous forecast of a 3.43 percent increase.

Due to an improvement in earnings, the survey found that employers will issue year-end bonuses equivalent to 1.34 months of salary on average, up from 1.33 months seen a year earlier. The figure was a high since 2011, when the average year-end bonuses equaled 1.41 months of salary.

The job bank said that 17.4 percent of the employers who will issue bonuses said their employees are expected to get higher year-end bonuses this year.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of the employers said they will issue bonuses based on employee performance, while 31.1 percent of them said they will take seniority into consideration, the job bank said.

According to the survey, the manufacturing sector, which has got a boost from rising global demand, will give the highest year-end bonuses, followed by the financial sector and the services sector.

However, year-end bonuses to be issued by the property development sector will lag behind these three sectors as the local housing market has slowed. The property sector issued the highest bonuses last year, according to the job bank.