The number of furloughed workers has continued to fall, as reduced concern over the COVID-19 pandemic has led to renewed business activity, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Data compiled by the ministry showed that the number of workers who reached an agreement with their employers to be placed on unpaid leave programs totaled 23,607 as of Wednesday last week, down 2,219 from the 25,826 recorded a week earlier.
That follows a decline of 5,990 from July 1 to 7.
However, the number of employers with unpaid leave programs increased by 22 to 974 from July 8 to Wednesday last week, the data showed.
The ministry attributed the decline in the number of furloughed workers to improvements in the transportation and warehousing industries, which saw the number of workers on unpaid leave falling to 635 from 2,840 on July 7.
A large international carrier stopped its unpaid leave program, cutting the number of furloughed workers by about 2,000, said Wang Chin-jung (王金蓉), a specialist in the ministry’s labor conditions and equal employment division, referring to China Airlines Ltd (中華航空).
The manufacturing sector recorded the largest number of furloughed workers, with 15,927 as of Wednesday last week, ahead of the retail and wholesale industry with 4,344, the ministry said.
It also topped other industries in the number of employers with unpaid leave programs at 315, followed by the retail and wholesale industry with 360, the ministry added.
The export-oriented manufacturing sector remains heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has weakened global demand, Wang said.
Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small firms with workforces of fewer than 50 people, the ministry said.
The unpaid leave programs typically last fewer than three months and involve employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, it said.
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