The Council of Labor Affairs’ (CLA) latest figures show that next quarter businesses across the country plan to hire about 48,000 more workers than they plan to lay off.
The latest quarterly poll was conducted from Oct. 16 to Nov. 5 on 3,025 businesses around the country that have 30 or more employees. The surveyed employers were asked how many workers they planned to hire or lay off next month.
Respondents planning to hire were looking for a total of 65,230 people, while companies planning layoffs said they would let a total of 17,277 go, which equals a net increase of 47,953 job openings projected for the first quarter of next year.
Comparing different industries, manufacturing firms took the lead, saying they plan to hire a total of 19,528 workers, followed by retail and distribution firms (7,906), service and support staff (6,878) and the hotels, food and beverages sector (3,289).
A majority of businesses that plan to hire more workers said they planned to do so because of planned expansion in equipment or services. Other popular reasons included an improved business outlook, the start or continuation of training programs and the replacement of former employees.
While government-sponsored programs and job openings in the public sector helped to boost labor demand, the private sector is the key to sustained growth, said Cheng Wen-yuan (鄭文淵), director of the council’s Statistics Department.
Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labour Front said some hirings may have been planned because the first quarter of next year includes the Lunar New Year. During that time, companies in the manufacturing and retail industries may increase temporary manpower to cope with the peak holiday sales period. These temporary or part-time workers, however, may have their contracts terminated after the holiday season ends.
Some businesses may also have taken into account the fact that many workers wait to change jobs until after they have received their year-end bonus, he said.
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