Brain Drain Detrimental to Taiwan's Future

Brain Drain Detrimental to Taiwan's Future
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
January 30 2015

Executive Summary: Market sentiment has improved. The job market has followed suit. Quitting one's job is increasingly commonplace, and viewed positively by the public. But Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore are all recruiting young people from Taiwan. Many young people, lured by higher salaries, have moved overseas. This brain drain is a major problem. It is unfavorable to Taiwan's future. The government must deal with it wisely.

Full Text Below:

Market sentiment has improved. The job market has followed suit. Quitting one's job is increasingly commonplace, and viewed positively by the public. But Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore are all recruiting young people from Taiwan. Many young people, lured by higher salaries, have moved overseas. This brain drain is a major problem. It is unfavorable to Taiwan's future. The government must deal with it wisely.

Last year, the economy began to recover. Employment opportunities increased. The unemployment rate gradually declined. The December unemployment rate was 3.79%. This was 0.29 percentage points lower than the same period last year. It was the lowest in nearly 14 years. Last year, 457,000 people were unemployed. This year that number fell by 21,000. They were unemployed for an average of 25.9 weeks. That is 0.3 weeks shorter than last year. The job market was the best it has been in years. Payroll Statistics show that by November last year, the average salary (including overtime, bonuses) was 47,377 NT, a 3.89% increase. This was the highest salary level for the calendar year. But prices rose 1.26% over the same period. As a result, the actual level remains where it was 15 years ago.

The public has begun to respond. According to a Yes123 employment agency survey, the company and staff were optimistic about the first quarter of this year. The Lunar New Year is approaching. As many as 68% of all office workers are ready to quit this season. The 1111 employment agency found that over 94% of all workers plan to change jobs after the New Year. Clearly many people are changing jobs. This is an international phenomenon. On January 11, CNN Money issued a report on the situation in the United States. The career website Glassdoor.com gave 900 respondents a questionnaire. As many as 35% said that if employers did not give them a raise, they would resign and seek employment elsewhere.

This is the era of self-help. Taking the initiative to find a better job is right and proper. Quitting, even going abroad to earn money, should be encouraged. We should not cling to the outmoded concept of lifetime employment, and require employees to remain in one place. When companies cannot provide employees with better remuneration, bosses should ask themselves why they cannot provide employees with higher incomes. If employees leave and find other jobs, they should be congratulated, not condemned. Bosses should have a sense of corporate responsibility, or noblesse oblige. They should not pocket all the profits. They should give employees better dividends. Greater incentives enable companies to reach greater heights.

Alas, in-depth studies have revealed a phenomenon unique to Taiwan. Many career changers boldly abandon their field of past expertise. They make a blind leap into entirely different industries and jobs. This phenomenon is expected to manifest itself after the New Years holiday. According to 1111 employment agency statistics, 26.7% of all career changer took just such a leap. As a result, salaries declined nearly 1% from the previous quarter. Clearly job seekers are desperate, and willing to leave a familiar environment. They would rather seek change, and sacrifice their current salaries, in pursuit of greater future rewards.

Young people seeking adventure or life experiences should be encouraged. But more and more are leaving home for employment abroad. This is detrimental to the nation's prosperity. Many of them are high-tech and management talent. Data shows that up to 61.1% of those who relocated were professionals. The massive outflow of high-end manpower from Taiwan is particularly serious. Meanwhile, foreign workers on Taiwan are not high-end talent. As a result, Taiwan has become a net exporter of high-end labor. Department of Labor statistics indicate that over the past 10 years, 27,000 people with high-end talent have moved abroad.

Oxford Economics, a British economic research institute, and several multinational corporations have just released their “Global Talent 2021” resport. They estimate that by 2021, Taiwan's brain drain, in combination with its failure to attract foreign talent, will make it the most talent deficient region in the world. This is a huge warning sign for Taiwan. Advanced Western countries and the three other Asian dragons, have inflows of talent as well as outflows. They, unlike Taiwan, do not suffer a serious imbalance.

We lag far behind in the international bidding wars. But why? Because after-tax salaries on Taiwan are too low. As the saying goes, “The temple is too small for the Buddha.” People with ability prefer to be in the international market. So they vote with their feet, and leave Taiwan. Low-incomes and regulatory restrictions prevent the introduction of foreign high-level white-collar workers.

What is the answer to this problem? First of all, the government must abandon the notion of "control" and adopt a spirit of "growth”. This would encourage business executives. Government control is all about avoiding mistakes. But this limits the possibility of progress. Only the spirit of growth can retain talent. One of the key factors is the maximum marginal income tax rate of 40%, which may be raised to 45%. This is highly detrimental to retaining or attracting high-end talent.

The "Industrial Innovation Articles" have yet to be passed. It should be fast tracked. It includes research and development investment tax credits, the formalization of technology shares taxation, five major tax free employee incentives, and three changes to the tax laws. The amendment may encourage continued investment in innovation and research, promote innovation, strengthen domestic enterprises, and retain talent. Legislators have questioned the enterprise tax concessions. They say that they may help enterprises to reduce costs and increase after tax profits. But in the long-term they may be detrimental to international competitiveness and corporate responsibility. Now is a time of extraordinary economic turbulence. Extraordinary measures are required to promote economic and social progress.

社論－人才外流不利台灣發展
2015年01月30日 04:10
本報訊

最近景氣改善，就業市場隨之回溫，「跳槽」風氣逐漸盛行，社會多以正面看待。但中國大陸、香港、新加坡也擴大對台灣青年徵才，很多年輕人在高薪利誘下跳槽海外，人才外流是大問題，不利台灣發展，政府應小心面對。

去年經濟開始復甦，就業機會增多，失業率逐步下降。12月失業率為3.79%，不僅較前年同期減0.29個百分點，也是近14年來同期最低。去年全年平均失業人數45.7萬人，年減2.1萬人，平均失業周數25.9周，也較前年縮短0.3周，這是近年來就業市場的最佳表現。薪資統計顯示，去年1到11月薪資平均（含加班、獎金）4萬7377元，年增3.89%，薪資雖為歷年最高水準，但若扣除同期物價上漲1.26%，仍不及15年前水準。

有鑑於此，社會已經開始有所反應。根據人力銀行業者Yes123調查，公司行號與員工對今年第1季經濟均抱持樂觀看法，加上進入農曆年尾，有68%上班族準備於本季跳槽。而1111人力銀行發現，超過9成4的上班族計畫年後轉職，顯示轉職潮即將湧現。無獨有偶，這也是國際現象。跟據CNN Money1月11日報導美國狀況，由職業網站Glassdoor.com對900名受訪者做出的問卷顯示，35%的人表示如果現僱主不給自己加薪，他們將辭職，另謀蹊徑。

自力救濟的時代，用自己的力量尋找更好機會是天經地義。跳槽，乃至於到國外賺外國人的錢，都應該被鼓勵。我們不應停留在終生僱用制老觀念，要求員工從一而終。當企業無法給員工更好的報酬，老闆就應該檢討，為什麼不能給員工更好的收入。員工離職另謀高就，應該受到祝福，而不是詛咒。老闆應該有企業責任的觀念或是企業王國的胸襟，不要一切利益據為己有，而是能給員工更好的分紅，藉此建立的激勵機制，也可使公司的營運更上層樓。

但深入研究對比，卻發現台灣一種獨有的現象，不少跳槽者大膽放棄過去的領域與經驗，「裸跳」至不同的產業及職務，預計將成為今年年後轉職潮的特殊現象。1111人力銀行統計，「裸跳」占26.7%，造成期望月薪反較上季下滑逾1成。顯示求職者，是斷尾求生，離開熟悉的環境，求新求變，寧可犧牲一時的薪水，追求未來更高的報償。

年輕人冒險或拓展人生經驗值得鼓勵，可是離鄉背井到海外求職就業者越來越多，就不利國家社會的發展。因為這其中有很多都是高科技及管理人才，數據顯示外移人口中專業人才占比高達61.1%，造成台灣高端人力大量外流特別嚴重。可是與此同時，來台就業的外國高端人才卻沒有增加，台灣成為高端勞力淨輸出國。勞動部統計指出，過去10年都維持每年2.7萬人的高端人力流動逆差。

英國經濟研究機構牛津經濟公司和多家跨國企業最新的集體研究《全球天資 2021》（Global Talent 2021）更預估，台灣到2021年時，因人才外流，加上吸引不到國際人才，恐將成為全球最缺乏人才國家。這對台灣未來的發展是很大的警訊。西方先進國家及亞洲其他三小龍，人才有流出也有流入，不像台灣如此嚴重的失衡。

面對國際搶人大戰，我們是遙遙落後。究其原因，台灣的稅後薪水實在太低，小廟容不了菩薩，有能力的人士寧可在國際市場被選才，因此用腳投票，離開台灣。而因為我們社會的低薪及法規的限制，外籍高階白領人力引進卻呈現停滯現象。

如何解決此嚴重的問題？首先，政府應該揚棄「管制」的中心思想，改以「發展」的精神，來促進主管業務的興旺。管制是求不出錯，卻限制了向前的可能性。相反的，透過發展觀念的實踐，引才留人就更容易推動。其中關鍵因素綜合所得稅的最高邊際稅率40%，未來有可能還要拉高到45%，這都非常不利高端人才的選擇。

本會期未竟其功的「產業創新條例」修正案，應加速通過，因為這包括企業研發投資抵減二擇一、技術入股課稅制度化，以及五大員工獎酬工具緩課稅等三大修正方向。修正案可以鼓勵公司持續投入創新研究、推動創新技術產業化及強化國內企業留才攬才。雖然有立委質疑提供企業租稅優惠或許有利於企業降低成本及增加稅後利潤，長期反而不利國際競爭力及企業責任。但現在已經是經濟興衰的非常時期，應該有非常藥方來促進經濟社會進步。