The nation's jobless rate may have hit a new 16-year high of 4.5 percent last month, the Chinese-language media reported yesterday, citing a government statistician.
According to the unidentified official, the unemployment rate increased due to new college graduates joining the labor market last month, the report said.
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics' jobless figures for June are set to be released today.
Unemployment hit a high of 4.22 percent last month as demand for the country's electronics goods continued to sag, forcing a rise in factory closures and further layoffs.
More than 3,100 factories closed in the six months to June, up 55.3 percent from a year ago.
"The prolonged economic slump has forced many Taiwanese manufacturers either out of business or to shift their facilities to the mainland in search of cheaper labor and land costs," an official with the Ministry of Economic Affairs said last week.
While 411,000 people were unemployed in May, yesterday's report failed to disclose the new number of people in the unemployment line.
Meanwhile, the report revealed the unemployment malaise appears to be moving from traditional industries into high-tech industries, which are for the most part located in northern Taiwan.
Attesting to that fact, the report cited a May rise in unemployment in northern Taiwan from 3.95 percent in April up to 4.37 percent.
According to numbers from the directorate general, regions with the highest jobless rate in May were: Keelung City with 4.88 percent, Ilan County (4.86 percent), Hualien County (4.84 percent) and Tainan City (4.84 percent).
A survey by MasterCard International last week ranked Taiwan's consumer confidence second to last among 13 markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with unemployment being the public's main concern.
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