TAIPEI: Unemployment last month rose by 0.01 percentage points to 3.9 percent, the lowest level for October in 15 years, according to government figures released yesterday.
The number of total unemployed people was 455,000 last month, an increase of 1,000 from the previous month, but a decrease of 2,000 from the same month last year, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.
The number of first-time jobseekers last month fell 1,000 from a month earlier, while the number of those who lost their jobs due to downsizing and closures rose by 1,000, and the number of those who became unemployed due to temporary job contract terminations increased by 1,000.
After seasonal adjustments, the local jobless rate stood at 3.79 percent last month, the same as in September, but down 0.09 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS data showed.
Chang Yun-yun, deputy chief of the agency’s census division, said the local market has changed, as employers tend to reduce working hours and manufacturers cut overtime hours to cope with the latest economic slowdown
Daniel Lee, vice president of 1111 Job Bank, one of Taiwan’s top human resources agencies, said in a media release that the labor market has been hit by fewer orders from foreign clients in the export-driven manufacturing and technology sectors, as well as unpaid leaves and job cuts in other sectors.
While service sector jobs accounted for about 47 percent of the 430,000 job openings last month, Lee forecast that more temporary jobs would be available at the year-end shopping season and that the overall labor market would have robust demand for employees in the first quarter of next year.
The ratio of new job seekers to job openings was 1:1.82 last month despite a decrease in the number of employment opportunities, according to DGBAS.
