The latest data released by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) shows that in the second quarter of this year, employment is projected to see a net increase of 58,000 jobs.
The CLA surveyed more than 3,000 businesses with 30 or more employees last month and asked the employers about their plans to hire or lay off workers. A majority, 62.91 percent, of the employers surveyed said they do not have plans to increase or decrease their workforce.
The results showed that surveyed employers would hire a total of 69,000 workers by the end of April, while 11,100 would be laid off, resulting in a net demand of 58,300 workers in the second quarter, said Cheng Wen-yuan (鄭文淵), director of the council’s Statistics Department.
Reasons that employers gave for increasing their companies’ workforces included “strengthened demand for the company’s goods or services” (39.21 percent), “expansion of the company’s equipment and departments” (34.18 percent) and “adherence with the company’s existing recruitment plans” (21.83 percent).
Based on the reasons that employers gave for expanding their workforces, the council attributes the growing labor demand to gradual domestic and international economic recovery, as well as growing buying power on the part of consumers.
When compared across industries, manufacturing companies were the biggest contributors to the number of projected hirings with 32,900 new jobs, followed by wholesale and retailers (8,400 jobs) and corporate support services (4,700 jobs).
The type of workers most in demand in the next quarter are non-skilled or manual laborers at 18,500 workers, followed by technical or professional support (12,900 workers) and professionals (11,100 workers).
In related news, a recent survey by the council’s online job bank service, eJob, showed that the type of worker most in demand this year is someone who “has endless creative ideas.”
The online survey, which asked more than 3,000 people last month which type of worker they believe is the most sought after this year, showed that 26.83 percent of those surveyed think workers with creative ideas are most in demand. Another 25.07 percent of those surveyed believe that workers with professional skills will be most needed, followed by loyal and diligent workers (16.22 percent), workers fluent in foreign languages (12.80 percent) and good communicators (8.51 percent).
Council officials said that the growing popularity of new products and services such as electronic books and online video games shows that both creativity and professional skills are in demand in the technology and cultural industries, and other growing industries.
To encourage workers to continue to improve their skills, the council said that workers between the ages of 15 and 65 can apply for a subsidy of up to 80 percent if they sign up for certain classes and training programs offered on the eJob Web site. A new schedule of classes in the fields of culture and arts, biotechnology, tourism, sustainable energy, medical care and agriculture is now available on eJob.
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