TAIPEI - Taiwanese wages dropped the most in 30 years in the first nine months of this year, as the effects of the global financial crisis took their toll on the economy, a government official said Wednesday.

Average wages from January to September were down 6.23 percent from the same period last year, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

"It's the sharpest drop in 30 years," said Chang Yi-sui, a press official at the directorate general.

"In the first half of the year, the economy had not yet recovered completely."

Exports account for about 70 percent of Taiwan's economy, meaning the global crisis hit the island particularly hard with its key electronics sector suffering.

Taiwan reported a contraction in its gross domestic product of 7.54 percent for the second quarter, following a 10.13 percent fall in the previous three months after it plunged into recession at the end of 2008. Third-quarter data will be released on Thursday.