About 70 percent of employers in the nation intend to recruit new employees in the fourth quarter of this year, as the local economy seems to be stabilizing amid efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, the online 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) said last week.
Although the fourth quarter is usually a slow season in the job market, a higher percentage of employers plan to hire during the period than the peak second and third quarters, when the ratio was 66 percent and 67 percent respectively, the job bank said, citing a survey.
Local employment was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the second and third quarters, and hiring was postponed to the fourth quarter, the job bank’s media center head Henry Ho (何啟聖) said.
Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Many employees in Taiwan prefer not to change jobs in the fourth quarter before year-end bonuses are paid, while recruitment usually spikes in the second and third quarters as first-time jobseekers enter the market, the job bank said.
Of the employers who are planning to hire new personnel in the fourth quarter, those in the construction and property sectors seemed the most eager, as the housing market has been showing signs of improving, the survey said.
Last month, transactions of homes, shops, offices and factories in Taiwan rose more than 36 percent from a year earlier to 243,000 units, the job bank said.
Employers in the service sector, particularly restaurant operators, are also keen to recruit new workers, as domestic consumption has been increasing since the government issued NT$50 billion (US$1.73 billion) worth of Triple Stimulus Vouchers in July to help spur private consumption, the poll found.
Employers in the information and communications technology industry are looking to hire new workers given the advent of 5G technology in Taiwan, Ho said.
The emerging technology has created new jobs in a wide range of segments, such as semiconductors, small base stations, the Internet of Things, smart machinery and long-distance medical care, he said.
However, while demand for new personnel is increasing, 73 percent of employers are worried about finding the right workers for their businesses, the poll said.
The survey, conducted from Oct. 12 to 16, collected 874 valid questionnaires, the job bank said.
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