Academics yesterday pointed out that Taiwan's unemployment problem was a result of the bubble economy that had burst and things could possibly get worse.
They urged the government to make policies to stabilize the economy and set up a comprehensive social-security network.
Tsai Ming-chang (蔡明璋), a professor of the National Taipei University sociology department, pointed out Taiwan was suffering from global capital movement. With the transfer of local capital to other countries, job opportunities are disappearing. Companies are furthermore using more automated systems which has led to a reduction in jobs, he said.
Tsai said that Taiwan's unemployment rate was rising, the time period it takes for an unemployed person to find a job was lengthening, and people were less prone to give up their jobs due to dissatisfaction in the workplace.
"It looks like this trend is not going to get any better soon. Taiwan may be in its worst economic position in 50 years. Although we may not come to a disastrous end, it is certain that Taiwan needs to reform its political and economic systems to adapt to globalization," Tsai said.
The scholars were talking during a seminar entitled "The Coming of the New Poverty Age -- The Impact Social Changes Impose on Income Distribution," held by the Chou Tsu-Hsiou Culture and Education Foundation.
Wu Chung-chi (
He said in his paper that the current economic recession was a result of the bubble economy coming to an end, and not the manufacturing sector moving its capital overseas. Wu said that in the late 1980s the construction business expanded too quickly and the real-estate business grew too fast, with the result that when the economy slowed down in the early 1990s, a recession set in.
Wu also said that recent trends showed that the majority of unemployed people tend to be middle-aged males with little education.
"With highly educated people marrying each other and lesser-educated people marrying each other, the income difference between families is growing even bigger," Wu said.
He said the government should help the more disadvantaged group of people find work, and limit the employment of foreign laborers in certain industries to ensure local people's right to work.
Meanwhile, Wang Lih-rong (王麗容), an associate professor of sociology of National Taiwan University, gave a definition for the new poor.
"The new poor can be defined as non-disabled people who are of working age but continuously get little income and education," Wang said.
She said that single mothers and female immigrants tend to become the new poor during an economic recession, because both were discriminated against and cannot find jobs easily.
"We have a weak social-security network which is based too heavily on salary and income. For example, one does not receive National Health Insurance when unemployed. If a man loses his job, very often he and his family will crash completely without having anything to fall back on," Wang said.
"It is important that we should set up an integrated and inclusive welfare system, and give support to housewives and people losing their jobs," he said.
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