The nation’s number of furloughed employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic jumped more than 800 over seven days to total 8,700 as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Labor said.
A total of 8,739 workers agreed to go on unpaid leave, up 823 from the end of last month, ministry data showed.
The number of employees on unpaid leave is the highest since February 2012, the data showed.
As of Wednesday, 370 companies had implemented unpaid leave programs, up by 62 companies over seven days, the ministry said.
Most of the companies are small enterprises with less than 50 employees, the ministry said.
The unpaid leave programs typically last less than three months, with workers taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, it said.
Hospitality and the food and beverage industry have been the hardest hit, with 2,979 workers on unpaid leave, followed by the metal and electromechanical sector with 2,302 furloughed workers, and the wholesale and retail sectors with 1,072 furloughed workers, it added.
Hospitality and the food and beverage industry have the highest number of employers implementing unpaid leave programs, with 7,916 workers at 308 companies as of Tuesday last week having agreed to go on unpaid leave, up from 3,835 workers at 109 companies as of the middle of March, the ministry said.
The nation’s jobless rate in February — 3.70 percent, up 0.06 percentage points from January — remained relatively stable, despite growing concern over the virus.
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