TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Around 56 percent of Taiwanese salaried workers believe they will receive a year-end bonus this year amid the economic fallout from the pandemic, according to a survey by job bank yes123, down 11.9 percent from last year and the lowest number in eight years.

It is customary for most companies in Taiwan to reward their employees with cash bonuses prior to the Chinese New Year holiday.

While salary earners hold a more pessimistic view about the cash reward, the survey found that 74.8 percent of Taiwanese firms said they will go ahead with the bonuses this year. Still, that figure is significantly lower than last year's 90.4 percent.

Not only is the number of workers receiving extra pay likely to decrease, but the size of the reward is also expected to continue its yearly decline. On average, employees will get a bonus equivalent to 1.11 months of pay, less than the 1.31-month average in 2019 and the lowest bonus handed out in nine years.

Industries likely to grant more generous bonuses include finance and accounting (2.5 months), IT (1.89 months), healthcare and biotech (1.56 months), traditional manufacturing (1.5 months), and real estate (1.45 months).

Sectors deemed less generous include service (0.83 months); agriculture, fishing, and environmental businesses (0.8 months); accommodation and travel (0.75 months); education (0.67 months); and media and advertising (0.5 months).

The job bank observed that COVID-19 is taking a toll on some industries but has boosted sales for others. Companies involved with disease control and contactless technology or that are beneficiaries of redirected export orders have been profitable and therefore likely to dole out more cash bonuses.

The survey was published on Monday (Dec. 14) and obtained valid samples from 1,320 salary earners and 966 companies in Taiwan.