The number of people registering for civil servant exams this year hit the lowest in eight years, despite job openings reaching a three-year high, government figures showed.
Registration for the two-day Civil Service Junior Examination and Level Three Senior Examination began yesterday, with 92,385 people registering.
The figure is down 3 percent from last year’s registrations, which is not a significant decline, said a Ministry of Examination official who requested anonymity.
Potential test-takers have been saying that they are considering giving up pursuing a career in public office, the official said.
The situation would likely worsen after the pension cuts come into effect on July 1 next year, the official added.
However, the ministry on Thursday said that pension reform is only one of many factors behind the fall in registration numbers, adding that attendance rates have been rising, despite the decline in registration.
Minister of Examination Tsai Tzung-jen (蔡宗珍) urged people not to jump to conclusions by looking at the numbers only, saying it could prevent them from seeing the root cause of the problem.
There is a wide range of factors that could have contributed to the decline, including low birth rates, socioeconomic reasons, changes in the number of job openings and a diversification of civil service qualification tests, she said.
Asked in what ways pension reform could affect registration numbers, Tsai said the deferred retirement age of 65 would decrease the number of job openings and might affect people’s willingness to take the tests.
The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday passed the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) that cut civil servants’ retirement benefits.
However, the change would not affect pensioners who receive less than NT$32,160 per month — the minimum monthly pension stipulated by the act.
The preferential 18 percent interest rate on savings of pensioners who receive NT$32,160 per month or more would be reduced to 9 percent from July 1 next year and would be reduced to zero on Jan. 1, 2021, according to the act.
For retirees who had received a lump sum payment, the preferential interest rate will be gradually cut to 6 percent over a six-year period, according to the act.
The act will also gradually lower the income replacement ratio for pensioners who receive NT$32,160 per month or more.
Those with 35 years of service will see their income replacement ratio drop from 75 percent to 60 percent over a 10-year period, while those with 15 years of service will see it fall from 45 percent to 30 percent over the same period, according to the act.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
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
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