Jobless rate up in June

The nation's unemployment rate rose for the second month in a row to 3.98 percent last month, lifted by new college graduates entering the job market and an increase in first-time job seekers, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said yesterday.

The number of people unemployed rose to 418,000 last month from 402,000 in May, the statistics agency said.

According to the agency, the rate was 3.84 percent in May, 3.78 percent in April, and averaged 3.87 percent in the first half of the year. A year earlier, the figure stood at 4.22 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the nation's jobless rate was 3.94 percent last month, up from 3.92 percent in May, the agency said.

The rate usually peaks in the June to August period, because of the increase in first-time job seekers and graduates, said Huang Jiann-jong (黃建中), an official at the agency.

Huang said he was optimistic the rate would come in below 4 percent for the full year.

"If the unemployment rate reaches 4.13 percent in every single month in the second half of the year, the rate for the full year will exceed 4 percent. But the likelihood for that is very small,'' Huang said.

Taiwan's jobless rate was 4.13 percent last year.