The number of Taiwanese nationals working overseas fell from 739,000 in 2019 to 501,000 in 2020, the lowest level since 2009, according to figures from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
The 32.2 percent drop brought the number of Taiwanese working abroad to the lowest level since records began, the DGBAS said Wednesday.
Last year, China, including Hong Kong and Macau, was the most popular destination for Taiwanese heading overseas to work, accounting for 48.3 percent of all Taiwanese working overseas.
Meanwhile, 17.1 percent of all Taiwanese working abroad in 2020 were based in Southeast Asia, with 15.4 percent in the United States.
The number of Taiwanese working in China saw the biggest drop, falling 153,000 from 2019 to 242,000.
Chen Hui-hsin (???), deputy director of the DGBAS census department, said there were short-term and long-term factors responsible for the downward trend in the number of Taiwanese working in China.
Describing COVID-19 in China as a short-term factor, Chen said that when the pandemic situation worsened in China last year the number of Taiwanese working there plunged by 38.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of Taiwanese working in the United States declined by 16.5 percent, or 15,000, compared to 2019, Chen added.
In terms of long-term factors, Chen said the number of Taiwanese working in China reached a peak of 430,000 in 2013 and then entered a downward spiral due to increasing labor costs of labor and environmental protection regulations.
Chen added that China-based Taiwanese companies were also returning to invest in Taiwan because of concerns over the U.S.-China trade war.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel