Unemployment rate rises to new nine-month high

Taiwan's jobless rate rose to 5.21 percent -- a nine-month high -- in August, when graduates entered the job market, the government said yesterday.

The unemployment rate also increased because more people quit their jobs due to dissatisfaction with their work, said the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

August's jobless rate was the highest since the 5.22 percent recorded in November, the government said. But on a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate was 4.96 percent in August, down from 5.02 percent in July, the statistics agency said.

August's seasonally adjusted jobless figure was the lowest since August 2001, when it reached 4.82 percent, the government said.

Chen Jin-cherng (陳金城), a deputy director at the statistics agency, credited the government's job-creation program with helping offset the impact of first-time job seekers on August's jobless rate.

He said the program cut between 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent off the August rate.