90% new residents satisfied with their jobs: Survey

調查顯示90％的新住民對工作感到滿意

More new residents joined social insurance in Taiwan, increased household incomes


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Wednesday (March 11), the Ministry of Interior announced the results of the 2018 New Residents' Life and Needs in Taiwan Survey, showing an improvement in job satisfaction and average household monthly income among immigrant communities.

According to the Ministry, the survey included 18,260 effective samples, and the data suggested almost 90 percent of the new residents were satisfied with their current jobs, with their household monthly income increasing by 13.9 percent compared to 2013.

Researchers found an increasing number of new residents having licenses for specialized skills since 2013, from 3.3 percent to 6.1 percent. Around 60 percent of the new residents have lived in Taiwan for more than 10 years, and they have actively joined courses, such as driving schools, Chinese lessons, or beauty courses to build up their skills.

Around 47.3 percent of the new residents are aged between 35 to 44 and mostly work in the service industry. Their overall labor participation rate hit 70.9 percent, higher than that of Taiwanese, which was pegged at 59.2 percent.

"Many new residents came to Taiwan to improve their quality of life and raise their income, so they are more likely to return to the job market after getting married or giving birth," said Yang Wen-Shan(楊文山), a sociology researcher at Academia Sinica.

As for involvement in social security, up to 97 percent of the new residents have joined the National Health Insurance (NHI), 7.5 percent higher than the figure in 2013. The social insurance for laborers, farmers, and fisherman also saw an uplift in participation; the rate climbed to 55.5 percent.

Linda, an arrival from Indonesian who has lived in Taiwan for 18 years, is working at the information counter at the National Immigration Agency (NIA) as an Indonesian translator. She praised Taiwan's New Southbound Policy, which renders opportunities to new residents and amplifies their language skills. "The NIA is like our second home in Taiwan," Linda said.

A Vietnamese new resident, Zhong Xiu-er (鍾秀兒) also demonstrated why Taiwan is the "Land of Possibilities" for immigrants. She is now a mother of three, a Vietnamese tour guide, and a Ph.D. student who owns two restaurants in Taipei after landing on this island 15 years ago.

"Since I took the first class from the NIA to adapt to my new life in Taiwan, I have been studying for 15 years. I was convinced that this is where I could build a life for myself and my children," Zhong said.