For the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, the unemployment rate is more than just another government statistic. It's part of their daily life. And it's almost three times higher than that of the Han population.
According to a poll released yesterday by the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, the unemployment rate among indigenous people is 7.55 percent -- approximately three times that of the rest of the population.
The poll was conducted by the Taiwan Survey Service (
The average unemployment rate for that month was 2.84 percent.
Of the 287,162 people from Taiwan's indigenous tribes above 15 years of age -- who constitute 1.7 percent of the island's total population in that age group -- 195,502, or 68 percent, are eligible for work, the poll indicated.
However, among the 195,502 people, a total of 14,757, or 7.55 percent, were unemployed.
Chiu Ju-na (
Chiu pointed out that since the majority of indigenous people have worked as laborers in the construction industry and are accustomed to high pay for short periods of time, they are not interested in jobs that offer lower salaries.
"They hope to make at least NT$3,000 per day, but the present market doesn't offer so high a rate due to the current economic slowdown," Chiu said. "Many of them won't accept a lower offer and choose instead to return to their hometowns."
Chiu said that since a majority of indigenous people don't have higher education credentials, their job competitiveness is weakened and their job options are limited.
The poll indicated that only nine percent of the population of indigenous people above 15 are college graduates.
The poll also indicated that 30 percent are high school graduates, 22 percent are junior high school graduates and 31 percent completed elementary school only.
Regarding cultural factors behind the high unemployment rate, Chiu said that many indigenous people do not enjoy working independently in industrial and commercial professions because it has long been a tribal custom to work in groups.
Chiu said that another reason for the high unemployment rate is competition from foreign workers. Chiu noted that 41 percent of laborers from the island's indigenous tribes work in technical, semi-technical and labor-intensive professions -- the same fields foreign workers are in.
According to statistics from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, while the number of foreign workers working in major construction projects increased by 7,896 people in 1998, the number of indigenous people working in the same field decreased by approximately 1,000 people during the same period.
Council chairman Hua Chia-chih (
Hua pointed out that while there are about 3,600 jobs available every month, only about 1,300 job seekers from indigenous tribes come in for job assistance.
"There are job openings, but they aren't filled probably because they require workers to live far away from their hometowns or because the pay is too low," Hua said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS