TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — High inflation was causing the real regular wage to shrink by 0.15% in 2022, the largest decline in a decade, the government said Friday (Feb. 17).

While the average real monthly salary rose by 2.8% to NT$44,417 ($1,458.5) from 2021 to 2022, after considering the impact of inflation, the wage actually declined to NT$41,357, according to data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). Taiwan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 2.95% in 2022, the highest annual figure in 14 years.

The latest government figures showed that the increase in salaries was failing to keep up with price rises for goods and services, UDN reported. The 2022 decline was the second annual drop in a row, and the highest since 2013, per CNA.

The DGBAS said Taiwan counted on average 8.17 million salary workers in 2022, an increase of 41,000 from the previous year. The largest increases, of 10,000 on average, occurred in the sectors of manufacturing, healthcare, and social services.