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April's jobless rate climbs to a record four percent level

The nation's jobless rate rose to a fourth straight record last month as falling exports and stalling demand at home forced companies to shed workers and cut costs.

Unemployment rose to 4 percent from 3.9 percent in March, without adjusting for seasonal changes, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (主計處) said. That's the highest since 1985.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), speaking after the new jobless figures came out yesterday, encouraged the public to take available jobs now and seek out better jobs in the

future. According to Chang, there are still some 57,000 job openings currently available.

The job market may shrink further as exports and industrial production extend their declines, and as companies move factories to China seeking lower costs, analysts said.

"From now on, it's really up, up and away," said Han Sia Yeo, an economist at IDEAglobal.com in Singapore. "The unemployment rate will keep rising for the next five months until the economy starts to recover."

The economy is sputtering as US customers cut orders for semiconductors and computers, and as domestic investment and spending falter.

The economy probably grew less than 3 percent from a year ago in the first quarter, the worst performance in a quarter-century, according to economists.

The central bank cut its key interest rate a quarter-point to a record low last week, the sixth reduction since December, to boost the sagging economy.

The number of people out of work last month rose to 385,000 from 380,000 in March. Of those people, 168,000 lost their jobs because of factory closures or layoffs, a 4 percent increase from the previous month, the government said.

Yageo Corp (國巨), the largest maker of parts that control electricity flow in circuits, said earlier this month it plans to sack one-tenth of its 7,220 workers to reduce costs by 30 percent so it can meet its profit forecast this year.

Taiwan Motor Transport Co (台汽客運), Taiwan's state-owned long-distance bus operator, plans to shed more than 3,000 workers when it shuts down at the end of June under a government plan to reduce state assets.

Falling overseas demand for electronics is also costing jobs.

Notebook computer makers Acer Inc (宏電) and Twinhead International Corp (倫飛電腦) said in February they plan to shed 1,000 workers.

To contain the rising unemployment rate, government agencies plan to set aside money to hire 80,000 part-time workers starting next month, said Chen Jin-Cherng (陳金城), deputy director of the statistics agency's census department.

The government said in January that it planned to spend an extra NT$111.5 billion (US$3.4 billion) this year on roads, bridges and other projects aimed at creating jobs and boosting the economy.

Still, the government's scope to ease the economic slump is limited as the spending plan remains bogged down in the opposition-led legislature and as demand dries up.

"Short-term unemployment is part and parcel of the slowdown," said IDEAglobal's Han Sia. "There's only so much the central government can do."
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