The nation’s jobless rate improved for a second consecutive month to 5.96 percent last month, as local companies increased hiring in response to recovering global demand, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for the first time in one-and-a-half years to 6.04 percent last month, the agency said.
“We believe this is a positive development, along with other economic data such as export orders,” said Cheng Cheng-mount (鄭貞茂), head economist at Citigroup Taiwan Inc.
“But the recovery appears to be tepid as jobs decreased further in the manufacturing sector, which makes up the biggest chunk of the job market and was hit hardest in the economic slump,” Cheng said.
Jobs in the manufacturing sector decreased 0.15 percent, or 6,000 jobs, month-on-month last month from September, the DGBAS said, but the trend had reversed in the service sector.
It could take two to three years before the local job market recovers to the level before the recession, Cheng said.
The jobless rate after seasonal adjustment could improve further to below 6 percent by the end of the year, DGBAS Deputy Director Liu Tian-shy (劉天賜) said.
“We believe the worst is over,” Liu said.
About 653,000 people were unemployed last month, down from 661,000 in September, the report said.
In addition to the macroeconomic recovery, the government’s job-creation packages helped boost employment, Liu said.
Without the government’s efforts in encouraging hiring, the jobless rate could have topped 6.27 percent last month, Liu said.
The number of people who had been unemployed for more than a year last month was unchanged at 108,000 compared with September, when it reached its highest level since January 2004, he said.
Meanwhile, the monthly pay roll increased 2.52 percent to NT$40,829 per worker last month, from NT$39,827 in September, the DGBAS said.
On an annual basis, that represented a decline of 1.28 percent, an improvement from September’s 4 percent year-on-year drop.
The DGBAS expected salaries to see an annual growth in the first half of next year, riding on an improving economy.
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