The unemployment rate inched up to 3.91 percent in the first quarter of the year from 3.71 percent the previous quarter, posting its first quarterly increase in six years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
“The results show that the labor market is still being affected by the nation’s slowing economic growth,” DGBAS deputy section head Chang Yun-yun (張雲澐) told a news conference.
The unemployment reading for last month was 3.89 percent, 0.17 percentage points higher than the same month last year, but 0.06 percentage points lower compared with February’s 3.95 percent, DGBAS data showed.
While the pace of improvement was slow, it shows that the current economic downturn has had only a limited effect on the labor market, Chang said.
“Many businesses are still looking to increase their head count, as indicated by the jobless rate’s decline last month,” Chang said.
The number of unemployed people reached 455,000 last month, which was 7,000 fewer than February, the agency’s report showed.
The number of people who lost their jobs due to seasonal factors decreased by 3,000, while people who quit their jobs dipped by 1,000 and people rendered jobless because of business closures or downsizing dropped at the same pace, the report said.
The rate of unemployment was highest among university graduates at 4.85 percent, followed by those with a high-school education at 3.83 percent, and junior-high school and below at 3.13 percent, the report said.
By age group, people aged 15 to 24 had the highest jobless rate at 11.85 percent, followed by 4.1 percent for those aged 25 to 44 and 2.13 percent for those aged 45 and above, the report said.
A separate survey by the DGBAS showed that businesses have scaled back year-end bonuses for employees, dragging down average monthly wages in the first two months of this year.
Year-end bonuses paid out this year averaged 1.54 times the monthly salary, lower than last year’s 1.69 times and 2014’s 1.55 times.
As a result, bonuses decreased by about NT$4,950, with average wages in the January-to-February period declining 2.69 percent to NT$67,425.
Excluding such bonuses, monthly wages during the period rose 1.41 percent annually to NT$38,889, the report said.
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