Local bosses’ demand for new employees may rebound between November and December following the job market’s low momentum last month, which is a traditionally strong hiring season, the latest report by 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) showed yesterday.
The online manpower agency’s data showed that job openings — including full-time, part-time and dispatched job openings — totaled 412,000 for last month, down 2 percent from July.
However, the average number of offers applied for by registered jobseekers on 104 Job Bank rose 3 percent for last month from a month earlier, the report said.
“Job opportunities showed a modest downturn trend for last month, but demand remained high, indicating that it has been more difficult for jobseekers to get an offer,” 104 Job Bank project manager Pola Chang (張雅惠) said in a release.
Chang said Taiwan’s labor market for this year did not show as much momentum as last year, especially in the traditionally strong hiring seasons, such as the period between May and June and August.
The pessimistic attitude towards economy may be the major factor dragging down employers’ demand, Chang said.
However, Chang said that the labor market could pick up between November and December on the back of increased hiring demand from the domestic consumer-oriented industries in the service sector.
“Most of companies will draft budgets, including human resource costs, for the next year during the fourth quarter,” Chang said.
The Lunar New Year next year may also raise hiring demand in the service sector starting from the end of this year, in order to deal with peak consumption during the holiday period, Chang added.
The Council of Labor Affairs shared the same outlook as the manpower agency.
The council’s latest survey showed that the number of new hires was the lowest over the same period in three years, with 36,300 new jobs to be created between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31.
That net increase in jobs is 26.06 percent lower than the 49,100 jobs created in the previous three months and 43.09 percent less than the 63,800 created during the same period last year, the council’s statistics showed.
The council said Taiwan’s labor market remains stable, but the decline in new hires reflects companies’ reservations about expanding investments.
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