Stuck With Low Pay, How Taiwan’s Young Graduates Cope With High Costs | Asia’s Stuck Generation

Millennials in Taiwan are facing a new reality — high cost of living, stagnating wages and tougher competition for well-paying jobs. Despite getting university degrees, many are not better off financially than their parents’ generation. Some are just surviving, with no savings at the end of each month.

Unlike their parents, who entered the workforce in the 1980s during the golden era of wage growth in post-war Taiwan, youths today face single-digit economic growth and slow wage increases, amid overall inflation and the rising cost of housing.

CNA Insider follows the lives of a few ‘trapped’ youths to see what they’re doing to cope - including working up to 4 jobs, or going overseas to work in F&B jobs.

00:00 Intro
03:07 Super-commuting to save on rent
05:27 The low market pay for fresh graduates
09:40 Slow wage growth vs inflation in Taiwan over 10 years
11:39 Who are ‘Bei Piao’ or North Drifters?
12:10 What a NT$11,000 rental in Taipei looks like
13:23 One youth’s living expenses & zero savings
17:12 Why young Taiwanese are going overseas to work
20:39 Social housing as a solution
23:27 Hopes and dreams of Taiwanese youths

*24:43 This video was narrated by Grace Yeoh.

Have feedback or an idea for a story? Email cnainsider@mediacorp.com.sg

Also watch:
Millennials & Gen Z: Young And In Debt. Why? |Talking Point: https://youtu.be/37oP3T5Cj4E
Why China's Gen Zs And Millennials Are ‘Quiet Quitting’: The ‘Bai Lan’ Movement :https://youtu.be/IPwzVv2ISGA
Hell Joseon: The Price Of Happiness In South Korea | Deciphering South Korea :https://youtu.be/M1zoyyj0jMg
What's The Cost Of Being The Hardest Workers In The World? | Deciphering Japan: https://youtu.be/2ajH2Id5FY4

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