The Impact of the Asian Financial Crisis on Foreign Workers in Taiwan

Abstract

Having experienced an economic crisis earlier, Taiwan was on its way to recovery when the crisis struck in 1997. In general, Taiwan's labor market was hardly affected by the crisis. Although the demand for foreign workers continues, there will be a decline in the employment of foreign workers in the future. The completion of construction projects and the upgrading of the economic structure would imply a lesser demand for foreign workers in the next few years. In the future, while the Taiwanese labor market would be more restrictive of less-skilled workers, it would be more open to professionals and highly skilled.