The number of workers hired in the manufacturing and service sectors in February edged down 0.12 percent, or by 9,000 people, as firms shed headcount to cope with a slow business season, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The overall number of employees stood at 8.16 million, with hotels and restaurants cutting 4,000 staff members, and manufacturers letting go 3,000, DGBAS said.
Compared with a year earlier, the pool grew by 0.25 percent, or an addition of 21,000 workers, as many employers emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
Photo: CNA
It is unclear if the decline in workers had to do with seasonal or economic factors, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said, adding that manufacturers tended to hire fewer workers in February and increased their staff in the following month.
Employee gains last month could have ranged from 1,000 to 7,000, although conclusions cannot be reached until official data is released, Chen said.
Overtime hours, another gauge of industry performance, fell by 0.4 hours per day in February from a year earlier, shrinking eight months in a row, DGBAS data showed.
The manufacturing sector is the backbone of Taiwan’s export-oriented economy, with the nation home to the world’s largest suppliers of electronics used in smartphones, notebook computers, wearables, televisions and vehicles.
Employers usually cut overtime hours before exploring other measures to control personnel costs during downturns, Chen said.
The accession rate, which measures the number of new workers added to payrolls, rose 0.08 percentage points year-on-year to 2.15 percent, DGBAS said.
The dropout rate, which reflects the number of workers who exit the job market, declined 0.09 percentage points to 2.27 percent, it added.
Average monthly take-home pay in February grew 2.51 percent year-on-year to NT$45,044, but dropped 0.71 percent from January, it said.
Total monthly wages — including performance-based commissions, bonuses and overtime compensation — advanced by 7.14 percent to NT$52,705, as the tourism sector emerged from COVID-19 restrictions, it said.
In the first two months, average take-home pay gained 2.39 percent to NT$45,206, but contracted 0.34 percent after factoring in higher inflation, Chen said.
Taiwanese employees on average received NT$75,688, or 1.63 months of salary, for year-end bonuses this year, led by 3.39 months at financial and insurance companies and 2.12 months at property-related companies, DGBAS said.
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