Taiwan’s job market will continue to improve this year as its economy has recovered from a year-long recession and its GDP growth is expected to surpass that of other Asian “little dragons,” Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.
Delivering an address at the opening of a central Taiwan job fair at the Taichung World Trade Center, Wu cited a recent World Bank assessment that said Taiwan would top the three other Asian “little dragons” in terms of GDP growth this year.
The World Bank report said Taiwan was the “little dragon” hardest-hit by the 2008-2009 global economic slump, with its GDP growth last year lagging behind that of South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
“The trend will reverse itself this year as the worst is over ... Our economy has weathered the gloom and gradually regained momentum,” Wu said.
Against this backdrop, Wu said, domestic job prospects have become increasingly bright, with the number of job openings rising steadily over the past four months.
To sustain the momentum, the government will work with the private sector to boost economic development and create more jobs, driving unemployment below 5 percent by the end of the year, Wu said.
Last month, Wu said he would take responsibility and resign if unemployment did not fall below 5 percent by then. Government statistics show unemployment was 5.76 percent in February.
More than 200 enterprises from central Taiwan set up booths at the job fair, offering a total of 14,000 jobs.
Another 100-plus companies also commissioned the fair’s organizers to collect resumes from prospective job seekers.
Wu promised the government would help track private enterprises’ recruitment operations to ensure the event generates the best possible results in helping local job seekers land jobs.
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