當勞工成了上帝：112.5萬缺工、300萬勞力斷層，台灣資本主義正被改寫

Lines at BBQ restaurants stretch out to the arcades at lunchtime, construction sites are deserted as steel bars are left untied, convenience stores have only one person on night shift, and hospital wards are closed as patients wait for nurses—this isn't news, it's everyday life in Taiwan. 104 Job Bank shows that online job openings have surged to over 1.125 million, with the five major industries of food and beverage, semiconductors, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, and construction absorbing over 780,000. HR takes 60 days to recruit a junior employee and nearly 78 days to recruit a supervisor. With negative population growth, births falling below 100,000, and a super-aged society looming, nearly 3 million workers may be lost in the next 15 years. The demographic dividend is ending, and the dependency ratio is approaching 1:1. Japan and South Korea have already warned that even with all methods, the workforce cannot be fully replenished. Food delivery platforms are absorbing traditional labor, forcing companies to raise wages, reduce working hours, and focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, giving workers a significant bargaining position for the first time. The controversial Indian migrant worker MOU initially only included 1,000 people, not the "100,000" target; the real pain points lie in the system: over 90,000 migrant workers have lost contact, agency fees are high, and direct hiring is not widespread. The solution lies in a multi-pronged approach: re-entry into the workforce for middle-aged and older workers, women's return to the workforce, childcare and flexible working hours, and automation and AI—all being promoted simultaneously and at an accelerated pace. When labor becomes a scarce resource, wages, prices, business models, and lifestyles will all be recalculated. This is not just a labor shortage, but a long-term shift that rewrites capitalism: are businesses, governments, and every worker ready? When workers become gods: 1.125 million workers are missing, 3 million laborers are in labor shortage—Taiwanese capitalism is being rewritten.