Taiwan's minimum monthly wage will rise to TWD 30,900 ($971.20) in 2027 from TWD 29,500, crossing the TWD 30,000 mark for the first time, Focus Taiwan reported on September 24.

The increase, agreed by the Ministry of Labour's Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee, delivers on a pledge made by Premier Cho Jung-tai in April, when he said he could guarantee the monthly floor would pass TWD 30,000. Wage levels have become a persistent political issue in Taiwan, where stagnant pay has long sat awkwardly alongside the island's position as a global semiconductor and electronics manufacturing hub.

The minimum hourly wage will climb to TWD 205 from TWD 196 under the same decision. Both figures require Cabinet approval before taking effect.

The new rates are scheduled to apply from January 1, 2027.

Foreign migrant workers employed as live-in caregivers or domestic helpers will not benefit from the rise, because they fall outside the scope of Taiwan's Labour Standards Act. Labour groups have repeatedly called for that exclusion to be addressed, with tens of thousands of foreign caregivers, mostly from Southeast Asia, working in Taiwanese households.