This year's new college graduates do not have to worry about finding jobs this summer, as human resource agencies say that the supply of entry-level jobs has grown considerably since last year.
According to online human resources agency 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行), there are currently over 90,000 jobs open to college graduates, triple last year's number.
"In the past three years employers preferred those with considerable work experience, but demand has been surging since early this year as the eco-nomy has improved, forcing them to even snap up graduates with no experience," said Monica Chiu (邱文仁), 104 Job Bank's marketing manager.
A recent poll by another human resource agency, 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行), shows that 83 percent of enterprises intend to recruit graduates, the total number of whom the company estimates will hit 200,000 this summer.
Furthermore, graduates this year are expected to receive bigger paychecks than those who graduated during the last three years. Thirty percent of employers polled said they will raise their base salaries for entrants by 30 percent this year, according to the survey.
For example, 104 Job Bank said R&D-oriented engineers with a bachelor's degree will be offered NT$30,459 per month on average, and those with a master's degree should receive offers averaging NT$34,386.
System software professionals are likely to receive monthly pay in the range of NT$30,466 to NT$34,153 depending on their academic degree. Employers in the computer hardware and communication industry offer the third-highest salaries, averaging from NT$29,009 to NT$32,381.
As a result of the booming economy, a 1111 Job Bank poll found that 64 percent of graduates are optimistic about their job prospects, and 51.85 percent said they will enter the workforce after they graduate.
The poll was conducted via the Internet between May 12 and May 27 targeting college graduates, and is based on 1,702 valid samples.
Despite jobs being easier to find this year, 1111 Job Bank found that 13 percent of graduates say they are prepared to start their own businesses, while another 33 percent are considering starting a business.
Demand is concentrated in the financial industry, including securities firms and insurance companies, which accounts for 7.7 percent of the jobs posted on 104 Job Bank's Web site, followed by integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing with 7.6 percent and schools and academic institutions with 6.1 percent.
Others sectors with strong hiring plans include importers and exporters with 5.6 percent, the semi-conductor industry with 5.4 percent and the wholesale and retail sector with 5.2 percent.
According to 104 Job Bank, 15.8 percent of job-seekers applied for jobs in schools and academic institutions, 14.7 percent want to work in the IC manufacturing sector, and 14.4 percent applied for positions in the financial industry.
Chiu said that despite the recent gains in new jobs, the job market is incapable of absorbing all graduates in the short term. After the graduation season, the number who remain unemployed will gradually fall, she said.
The latest unemployment rate announced by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics was 4.36 percent in April, the lowest since June 2001.
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