Taipei: The number of Taiwanese working in the United States reached an unprecedented high of 137,000 in 2024, largely fueled by the aggressive overseas expansion of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), as revealed by recent government data.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported that a total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year. This marks an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and represents the highest level of overseas employment since the COVID-19 pandemic. The data highlights a steady rise in overseas employment from 2009 to 2019, which peaked at 739,000 before a significant drop to 319,000 in 2021. The decline was attributed to U.S.-China trade tensions, global supply chain disruptions, reshoring efforts by Taiwanese companies, and pandemic-related travel restrictions.
The figures have rebounded significantly over the past three years, coinciding with Taiwan's lifting of border controls and initiatives by countries, including the U.S., to persuade TSMC to establish chip manufacturing operations within their territories. TSMC's new fabrication plants in Arizona, U.S., and Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, which began mass production at the end of 2024, have been instrumental in this surge. These facilities have attracted not only TSMC employees but also workers from associated suppliers to relocate overseas.
The DGBAS data further indicates that China, including Hong Kong and Macau, continues to be the primary destination for Taiwanese workers, hosting 231,000 individuals, or 34.7 percent of the total overseas workforce in 2024. This is a significant decrease from pre-pandemic levels when over 400,000 Taiwanese were employed in the region, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total. The decline is attributed to ongoing U.S.-China tensions, technological disputes, and escalating labor and compliance costs in China.
Conversely, the proportion of Taiwanese workers in the U.S. rose to 20.5 percent, while Southeast Asia accounted for 14.6 percent. Japan and South Korea collectively represented 12 percent, with a record 80,000 Taiwanese working in these countries. Tan Wen-ling, DGBAS Deputy Census Director, noted a growing trend of Taiwanese professionals heading to Japan and South Korea, particularly Japan, which is actively seeking foreign talent to address its aging population and is increasingly open to overseas labor and investment.