Most of Taiwan's office workers are under great pressure due to a shrinking salary compared to their counterparts in neighboring countries or regions, according to reports reaching Hong Kong from Taipei on Tuesday.

Some 90 percent of Taiwan's office workers responding to a recent survey conducted by the Cheers magazine said their salaries had shrunk in real terms due to a continuous rise in consumer product prices, compared to white-collar workers in countries or regions like Japan, Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, who have received noticeable salary hikes in recent years.

Despite a 5.7-percent growth of Taiwan's economy in 2004, 88 percent of Taiwan's companies did not raise workers' salaries concurrently, according to the magazine's survey.

Taiwanese workers' salaries rose by an average of 1.3 percent in 2005, but local people earned less in real terms with a 2.3- percent growth in consumer prices, the magazine said, adding that decreasing salaries have become the biggest headache for Taiwan's office workers.

Citing local government's statistics, the magazine reported that the starting salary of Taiwan's colleges graduates in 2005 averaged at 26,000 new Taiwan dollars (about 820 U.S. dollars) per month, lower than the figure five years ago.

According to the Cheers magazine, information technology and science-related university graduates in Taiwan have a better starting monthly income of up to 30,000 new Taiwan dollars while those working in tourism-related businesses, hotels and restaurants get a monthly salary less than 20,000 new Taiwan dollars.

Source: Xinhua