Taiwan's working hours ranked the sixth-longest globally in 2022

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The average annual working hours of Taiwan's employees was 2,008 hours, shorter than Singapore's, but longer than South Korea's and Japan's.

According to a report on international labour released by Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (MOL), the average annual working hours of employees in Taiwan rose slightly from 2,000 hours in 2021 to 2,008 hours in 2022, the sixth-longest among 39 economies studied.

This marked the first increase in eight years since 2014, when Taiwan’s average annual working hours started falling gradually from 2,135 hours to 2,000 hours in 2021.

Top five economies with the longest average working hours in 2022

1. Columbia (2,381 hours)
2. Mexico (2,355 hours)
3. Singapore (2,293 hours)
4. Costa Rica (2,242 hours)
5. Chile (2,026 hours)

Six economies with shorter average working hours in 2022

• 39^th – Germany (1,295 hours)
• 38^th – Denmark (1,360 hours)
• 37^th – Netherlands (1,361 hours)
• 36^th – Austria (1,369 hours)
• 35^th – Sweden (1,401 hours)
• 34^th – Norway (1,409 hours)

In Asia, Taiwan's annual working hours were shorter than Singapore's (2,293 hours), but longer than South Korea's (1,904 hours, ranked eighth among 39 economies) and Japan's (1,626 hours, ranked 18^th).

The lower 2021 figure in Taiwan came as the weak domestic consumption due to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic led to business downsizing in the lodging and food/beverage industry, retail and wholesale industry, as well as many firms putting employees on furlough, explained Huang Wei-chen, Director of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, cited by Taiwan’s CNA. However, these domestic demand-oriented industries gradually returned to normal and raised their working hours in 2022 as the concerns over COVID-19 were eased.

Also contributing to the relatively high average annual working hours is the lower number of part-time employees in Taiwan compared to other economies, which accounted for only 3.5% of the total workforce, added Huang. The report indicated that the ratio was 25.1% in Japan, 16.4% in South Korea, and 10.5% in Singapore.

The MOL compiled the data on the 39 economies based on statistics by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Labour Organization, figures provided by the Labour Force in Singapore report, and data from other economies.

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