Unemployment fell 0.4 percentage points annually to 3.69 percent last month, the lowest level for that month in 15 years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Compared with the previous month, unemployment dropped 0.02 points, it said. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate showed a monthly drop of 0.04 percentage points to 3.74 percent.
Last month, the number of unemployed people fell by 2,000 from the previous month to 428,000, the DGBAS said, adding that the continued improvement in the job market reflected a recovery in the domestic economy.
According to the data, the jobless rate in the 20-24 age bracket fell 1.06 percentage points year-on-year to 12.32 percent last month, while in the 25-29 age group it dropped 0.76 points to 6.32 percent.
Among jobseekers with higher education degrees, unemployment decreased 0.28 points to 4.75 percent last month compared with a year ago, the DGBAS said.
The number of employees in the industrial sector increased last month by 41,000, or 1.01 percent, year-on-year, while that in the agricultural sector rose by 7,000, or 1.25 percent, data showed.
Employment in the services sector increased by 94,000 people, or 1.46 percent, over the same period.
Lo Yi-ling (羅怡玲), deputy director of the DGBAS’ census department, said the increase was a result of higher demand for temporary workers before the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
He said the unemployment data this month could be affected by a wave of job switching last month and this month — the period following the Lunar New Year — which is usually a peak season for job hunting.
This month’s figures would depend on how fast these job jumpers find new employment, Lo said.
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