The unemployment rate fell to a five-year low last month as companies such as AU Optronics Corp (
Without adjusting for seasonal changes, jobless rate dropped to 3.8 percent last month, down from 3.86 percent last December, according to a statement released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday.
Unemployment hasn't been below 4 percent since February 2001, when it was 3.76 percent.
Consumers in Taiwan and other Asian economies including South Korea and Hong Kong are spending more as job prospects improve, helping sustain economic growth that's been led by exports.
Taiwan's economy grew at the fastest pace in 18 months in the fourth quarter and the government last week lifted its forecast for expansion this year.
The number of people unemployed on the nation fell to 397,000 last month from 403,000 the previous month, the report showed.
The economy expanded 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, beating most economists' forecasts, as electronics exports jumped and consumer spending increased.
AU Optronics, the world's third-biggest maker of liquid crystal displays for computers and TVs, said on Feb. 8 that sales last month climbed 75 percent from a year earlier and announced plans to lift capital spending this year by 19 percent.
Private investment may increase 2.4 percent this year following a 1.3 percent decline in last year, DGBAS said last Thursday.
Meanwhile, the economy also showed signs of slight growth last month with the index of leading indicators up 0.1 percent from December, when it posted a revised 0.5 percent month-on-month increase, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday.
The preliminary reading of the December index of leading indicators, used to predict the direction of the economy's movements in the coming three months, was a 0.6 percent month-on-month increase.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
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Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San