A. Employment Structure

A shortage of labor appeared in the employment market, with basic labor in particularly short supply. By 1990, the proportions of the workforce employed in agriculture and industry were 12.8% and 40.8% respectively. During this period service industries became the leading sink for manpower, and employment in this sector rose to 47.1% of the workforce.

B. Major Industries and Products; Key Technologies

1. Agriculture:

---Since the supply of staple grains exceeded demand, farmers switched to secondary grains or took land out of cultivation.

---The cutting of trees was reduced and forestry land given the new primary objective of soil and water conservation.

---New agricultural products included the Chihsing bass, spotted grouper, and striped clam.

2. Industry:

---Strategic industries were promoted (machinery, electrical machinery, electronics, automotive parts, and metals manufacturing); the fact that the value of exports continued to grow, the majority of which consisted of electronics and machinery, showed that the R.O.C. had successfully restructured its industries.

---The promotion of automation raised productivity and lessened pressure caused by the labor shortage.

---Notable export products during the eighties included VCR's, calculators, gloves, handbags, plastic products, cameras, toys, textiles, electric fans, motors, telephones, sewing machines, athletic socks, auto parts, and garments.

---Industrial output increased by an average of 7.7% annually throughout the eighties; the output of heavy industry increased by 9.8% and that of light industry increased by 5.7% annually.

C. Major Transportation Projects

---The railway in eastern Taiwan was entirely converted from narrow gauge to broad gauge track; Tzuchiang-class diesel express trains entered service.

---The Northern Coastal Highway and the Kuantu Bridge were opened to traffic. The traffic control system on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway was activated with the press of a button.

---The Yangming Marine Transport Corporation began service on R.O.C.-Europe and other routes, thereby completing a radiating shipping network. The Evergreen Marine Corporation successfully developed worldwide shipping lines.

---Several new container centers at the R.O.C.'s international ports went into service. The R.O.C. became the world's third largest handler of containerized cargo and had the world's fourth greatest number of containers.

---China Airlines extended its flights from New York to Amsterdam, thereby completing a round-the-world route.

D. Indicators of Technological Development

---The proportion of GNP devoted to research and development grew from 1.01% in 1986 to 1.66% in 1990.

---The number of research personnel grew from 27,747 in 1986 to 46,071 in 1990.

---The number of approved domestic patents grew from 5,800 in 1986 to 11,493 in 1990.

---The value of technology-intensive products as a proportion of all exports grew from 22.2% in 1986 to 34% in 1990.