The number of workers on official furlough programs dropped by about 5,000 over the past week as businesses in the tourism and manufacturing sectors recalled more than 1,600 employees from unpaid leave, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The number of workers on furlough programs reported to the ministry fell to 13,499 from 18,492 on Tuesday last week, while the number of employers with unpaid leave programs also dropped by 644 to 2,017, the ministry’s data showed.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) attributed the drops to seasonal factors and some companies in manufacturing and support services industries recalling staff from unpaid leave.
Photo: CNA
The number of furloughed workers in the manufacturing sector dropped by 1,798 to 4,439 over the past week, the ministry’s data showed.
Despite the decline, weakening global demand still affected export-oriented manufacturers, some of whom might implement unpaid leave programs after the Lunar New Year holiday, Huang said.
The number of furloughed workers in the support service industry, which is largely comprised of travel agencies, fell by 1,626 to 6,092 in the week, the ministry’s data showed.
Huang said the lifting of border controls for arrivals and a travel surge ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday helped boost the support service sector, significantly lowering the number of workers in the industry on unpaid leave programs.
The furlough situation in domestic demand-driven industries, such as hospitality and the retail and wholesale business sectors, also improved last week, he added.
As for the transportation and warehousing sectors, despite Taiwanese airlines terminating furlough programs, some air carriers that mainly provide flights to China still had furlough programs in place, Huang said.
The ministry updates its furlough data every week, and reports unpaid leave statistics for companies that have registered their furlough programs with the ministry.
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