Taipei:The ratio of atypical employment in Taiwan has reached a 14-year low, according to an annual survey conducted by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). The survey, released on Friday, highlights a decline in atypical workers, which include part-time and temporary employees, in 2026.

According to Focus Taiwan, the DGBAS survey conducted in May revealed that Taiwan had a total of 793,000 atypical employees in 2026. This marks a decrease of 6,000 employees, or 0.67 percent, from the previous year. Atypical workers accounted for 6.82 percent of the total workforce, which stands at 11.63 million, representing the lowest ratio since 2013.

Tan Wen-ling, deputy director of the DGBAS Census Department, noted that the decline in atypical employment is attributed to a reduction in temporary and "dispatch" workers, although the number of part-time workers has increased. The survey also showed that while atypical jobs were once seen as options for economically disadvantaged workers, 34.89 percent of respondents chose such jobs for their unique characteristics, and 22.97 percent preferred this employment pattern.

The survey further indicated that among atypical workers, 58,000 expressed a desire for full-time positions, accounting for 7.33 percent of the total, a decrease of 1.09 percentage points from the previous year. Additionally, the labor participation rate for women aged 15 and older reached 52.33 percent in 2026, an increase of 1.67 percentage points over a decade.

The labor participation rate among married women aged 15-49 was 79.33 percent, up 9.95 percentage points over 10 years. Within this group, women without children had a participation rate of 85.44 percent, while those with children had a rate of 78.19 percent, reflecting increases of 7.03 and 9.94 percentage points, respectively, over the same period.