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Job seekers' prospects improving

"According to our survey, there are 110,897 new jobs needing to be filled in November."

Rocky Yang, general manager of 104 Job Bank

The local job market provided 42,000 new job opportunities for graduates over a year ago as the nation's economy recovers, said a survey released by an online job bank yesterday.

The survey, which polled 2,284 university graduates and 760 companies during the third quarter, showed that about 60 percent of university graduates would easily find jobs this year, compared to 55 percent for last year, said 104 Job Bank Corp (104人力銀行), the nation's largest online job bank.

"According to our survey, there are 110,897 new jobs needing to be filled in November, including around 44,000 job opportunities open to those fresh from school this year," said Rocky Yang (楊基寬), general manager of 104 Job Bank.

At a press conference yesterday, Yang said he felt optimistic about first-time job seekers' prospects. But at the same time he suggested college students try to do more internships before they graduate.

"If they could accrue relevant work experiences through being a trainee prior to graduation, it will be easier for them to find a job later on," Yang said.

"In addition, specific language skills and professional certifications, as well as a proper assessment of your personality are essential to secure employment opportunities," he added.

However, a job-hunting consultant at Diwan Management Consulting Inc (致遠管理顧問公司), member of renowned Diwan, Ernst & Young Group, said more and more companies are refraining from hiring first-time job seekers.

"Our clients still prefer experienced applicants," said the consultant, who preferred not to be named. "The fact is that companies spend less and less on job-training costs. They need employees who can be on the job straight away."

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said some 505,000 people were jobless in September, a fall of 16,000 from a month earlier. The government's statistics agency is scheduled to release October figures later this month.

During a "jobless recovery" such as the current economic situation, there is unlikely to be any substantial impact on white-collar employees, an Academia Sinica economist said yesterday.

"A jobless recovery mostly impacts older workers in labor-intensive industries. They are usually workers possessing lower educational degrees or fewer professional skills," said Wu Chung-shu (吳中書), a research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica.

As the global economy gradually recovers, Wu said Taiwan's economy could expect to see a 3 percent GDP growth-rate this year. In July, Academia Sinica predicted the nation's economy would grow 2.65 percent.

Starry Shih (施建矗), an official at the Executive Yuan's National Youth Commission who oversees youth career guidance and vocational training, suggested university graduates try to find job opportunities in service industry.

"The service industry, especially the marketing section of the banking and finance industries, need large amounts of manpower to promote their products and boost their sales. They are also more willing to employ inexperienced university graduates," added Shih.

Yang said the economic recovery might encourage companies to adjust upward wages by around 3 percent.

According to Shih, college graduates get a monthly average pay of NT$25,000 while unversity graduates get a salary at NT$28,000 to NT$30,000. People possessing master's degrees can get salaries from NT$33,000 to NT$35,000.
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