Taiwan's labor ministry will convene next year's minimum wage review committee on Sept. 24. A decision to raise would mark an eleventh straight increase, and industry expects the adjustment could reach 5 percent.

Taiwan publishes its minimum wage separately for monthly and hourly pay. The committee includes labor, employer, government and academic representatives, with inflation, economic growth and labor productivity offered as the basis for calculation.

Price trends lie behind talk of an adjustment in the 5 percent range. With food and housing costs continuing to climb, the argument that nominal increases must be commensurate to preserve real purchasing power has gained ground.

Employers argue for caution, citing labor cost burdens. Their main point is that the strain falls hardest on food service, retail and care services, where labor accounts for a large share of costs.

Migrant workers are directly affected. Taiwan employs substantial numbers of migrant workers in manufacturing and care work, and the minimum wage functions as the baseline for their pay calculations.

The outcome is normally published by the labor ministry and applied from Jan. 1. Hourly adjustments are sometimes set differently from monthly ones, so sector-level calculations should follow the published notice.