The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) warned yesterday that unemployment may be worse than most people realize, with the actual number of people out of work more than double the official figure.
DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the results of a recent survey conducted by the DPP showed that the country’s unemployment rate stands at 9.47 percent, with the number of unemployed workers totaling 1.25 million.
The figures are significantly higher than the data released on Jan. 22 by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), which said that the unemployment rate was 5.03 percent in December, with 549,000 people out of work, Cheng said.
The DPP survey, which questioned 1,238 people on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, adopted the same criteria as the DGBAS to define “unemployed,” namely for respondents out of work, looking for jobs and ready to assume employment immediately, he said.
The survey found that half of the unemployed respondents lost their jobs involuntarily.
It is estimated that 590,000 people were laid off by their employers and another 130,000 first-time job seekers failed to land a job, while 520,000 gave up their jobs voluntarily, Cheng said.
Among those who still hold a job, 10 percent have had a pay cut and 4.7 percent have been forced to take unpaid leave.
The results of another DPP survey conducted on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 among 1,140 adults showed that 63.3 percent of those who were jobless did not think government measures would help solve worsening unemployment.
Slightly more than 74 percent of the respondents said they believed the government’s economic policy only emphasized short-term goals, while 72.9 percent disagreed with President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) prediction that the economy would begin to improve in the second quarter of this year.
Cheng said the poll showed that the public was pessimistic about the future of the economy and that the government had somehow misunderstood this as meaning that people want further economic integration with China.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it