Taiwan’s shrinking population forces government to woo overseas talent, retrain workers
- Births in Taiwan this year are expected to plunge to 166,351, the lowest level since records began in 1980, the island’s government says
- To offset its shrinking workforce, Taipei is retraining older workers, courting overseas talent and increasing financial incentives for parents
With Taiwan’s population set to decline this year for the first time, the government is rolling out a suite of measures to sustain productivity, ranging from importing foreign talent to retraining older workers and boosting childcare subsidies.
Like neighbouring South Korea and Japan, Taiwan is in need of skilled workers to bolster its shrinking workforce, which will confront “negative growth” by 2031, the government-funded Central News Agency has reported.
“The population trend is something that can’t be reversed,” said a senior official surnamed Chao from the National Development Council, a government planning agency. “There could be some areas where labour is insufficient.”
Automation and digitisation seem to have a greater impact in not just maintaining, but also helping to boost overall productivity
Total births this year are expected to plunge to 166,351, the lowest level since records began in 1980, according to the planning agency.
