Government payouts to the unemployed have steadily surged over the past two years as the jobless rate continues to rise, the Labor Insurance Bureau (LIB) reported yesterday.
According to Bureau tallies, the government paid some NT$8.33 billion (US$238 million) to the unemployed over the first nine months of this year, an amount exceeding the total paid out during the whole of 2001.
Labor Insurance Bureau officials estimated that governmental unemployment subsidies could top NT$10 billion for this year as the conditions for qualifying for such payments have been relaxed and as the jobless rate continues to climb.
The Bureau tallies showed that the government paid out some NT$510 million in 1999, the first year of the governmental unemployment subsidy program. The figure almost tripled to NT$1.66 billion in 2000.
Although 43,288 people qualified to receive the unemployment subsidy in September, the figure was still low compared with the total number of the people who were out of work, numbering roughly 500,000 throuought the island-state.
Turning down work
Meanwhile, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), the average individual period of unemployment was 29.4 weeks in August, with the period for non-first time job seekers averaging 31.1 weeks.
Noting that some unemployed people have been readily turning down job opportunities offered by government agencies, labor insurence Bureau officials said the Council of Labor Affairs is considering amending related statutes to prevent this from happening.
Measures being considered include ending unemployment subsidies to any person who turns down a new job unless the salary of the new job is less than two-thirds of that of their previous job or the location of the job is more than 30km away from their home, Bureau officials said.
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