Taiwan’s 2011 economic census was released May 2 by the ROC Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, with the results showing decelerating economic growth for the island.
There were 1.18 million firms operating in Taiwan as of yearend 2011, up 7.2 percent from the previous census conducted in 2006. This was a drop in growth of 11 percentage points, survey on survey.
Nearly 60 percent of the companies have been in business for over 10 years, with one-third in existence for over 20 years, indicating a stable local business environment.
Total output for the firms reached NT$29.9 trillion (US$1.01 trillion), up 24.4 percent from the previous survey. The growth rate is less than half of the 49.4 percent reported in 2006.
Manufacturing accounted for nearly 60 percent of additional production, while real estate outperformed all sectors with a 65.9 percent gain. In particular, the weighting of the services sector output dropped to 34.6 percent, its lowest level since 1996.
The total number of workers was 8 million, up 6 percent from five years before, with the services sector accounting for 58.1 percent overall. Average wages went up 7 percent to NT$579,000, slightly lower than the 7.5 percent of the previous report.
In terms of regional development, over 65 percent of companies and 67 percent of the workforce were located in the five metropolitan areas. Kaohsiung and Taoyuan topped other cities in manufacturing output, totaling 15.6 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively, while Taipei was a distinctive leader in services sector output.
Taiwan’s labor productivity increased 17.3 percent between 2006 and 2011, while labor cost per output unit dropped 8.8 percent.
But increased operation efficiency did not extend to the information and electronics industries. The two sectors’ labor cost per output unit increased 17.3 percent, while capital productivity dropped 6.8 percent, resulting in an average profit margin of only 2.7 percent, down 5.2 percentage points from the previous survey.
Fierce global competition also drove Taiwan’s manufacturing value-added rate down to 24.2 percent, 5.1 percentage points lower than 2006.
The survey also showed that Taiwan’s small and medium enterprises outperformed larger corporations in operating efficiency, including higher labor productivity, lower labor costs and increased profit margins.
Conducted every five years since 1954, the census is Taiwan’s official measure of the economy and provides a detailed picture of business activities in the industrial and service sectors. (JSM)
Write to Meg Chang at sfchang@mofa.gov.tw