Taiwan ranked fourth among 23 nations in its hiring outlook for the third quarter, trailing India, Canada and the US, according to a global survey released yesterday. But the employment outlook weakened from the last quarter.
The quarterly report, conducted by Manpower Services (Taiwan) Co, interviewed more than 45,000 employers in 23 nations early last month about employment demand in the next quarter.
A "net employment outlook" figure -- which subtracts the number of employers planning to reduce staffing levels from the number planning to hire staff -- was used as a comparative measure.
The report showed that 29 percent of the 1,536 Taiwanese companies polled will increase employment offers, 5 percent expect a decrease in hiring and 38 percent forecast no change.
This puts the net employment outlook at 24 percent, down from last quarter's 35 percent.
Although all six sectors surveyed reported positive hiring intentions for the third quarter, each expressed more pessimism compared with the second quarter.
"The new labor pension system that begins July 1 may have been a significant factor for employers' hiring demands in the third quarter," said Dennis Lee (李崇領), Manpower Services general manager.
The new system requires employers to set aside 6 percent of an employee's salary per month in an individual pension account for that employee.
According to the survey, the most buoyant outlook was reported by the service sector, with 28 percent. In second place was manufacturing, with 27 percent. The finance, insurance and real estate sectors all came in at 26 percent, while the wholesale and retail sectors achieved 22 percent.
The transportation and utilities sector and the mining and construction sector both reported a net employment outlook of 18 percent.
"The service sector has contributed to more than 50 percent of Taiwan's GDP for 10 straight years. As this sector accounts for 54 percent of Taiwan's labor force, we forecast that employment opportunities offered by the service industry will show an upward trend in the near future," Lee said.
Tourism, for example, is delivering strong growth as the Cabinet hopes to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals to 5 million by 2008.
The government's plan to allow Chinese tourists is stimulating the tourism industry, which covers aviation, tour buses, railways, theme parks, tour guides, hotels and restaurants, said Roget Hsu (許高慶), secretary general of the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan (旅行公會全國聯合會).
"Seventy percent of the 2,500 travel agencies have said they need more staff. At least 46 hotels will be built within three years," he said.
"If the across-the-board opening [to Chinese tourists] is approved, we think at least 700,000 new jobs will be created a year," Hsu said.
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