The unemployment rate last month declined 0.05 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.43 percent, the lowest figure for the period in 23 years, as more first-time jobseekers found jobs and fewer people quit, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The unemployment rate has dropped for two months in a row after unfavorable factors linked to the graduation season faded, Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said, adding that it would drop further in the coming months.
“Companies focused on domestic demand are to raise their headcounts to meet a seasonal uptick in business this quarter,” Chen said.
Photo: CNA
Data from the past five years showed that the unemployment rate dropped 0.09 to 0.19 percentage points over the high sales season in November and December, the official said, adding that department stores and the hospitality sector would benefit from corporate and family feasts that usually come with prize draws.
Unemployment after seasonal adjustments dropped 0.03 percentage points to 3.41 percent, affirming a stable job market, Chen said.
Major restaurant operators said that more than 10,000 tables have been reserved for year-end and spring banquets, as companies are emerging from COVID-19 disruptions for the first time since 2020.
The performance of manufacturers has been relatively soft, as many are still dealing with the effects of a global trade slowdown, Chen said, adding that their overall headcount declined by 2,000 month-on-month and 19,000 year-on-year.
“It is too early to tell when the slowdown might come to an end, as geopolitical tensions are intensifying and global inflation is still elevated,” the official said.
The total number of unemployed people shrank by 5,000 to 411,000 month-on-month after the number of people who quit their jobs decreased at the same pace, the DGBAS report said.
University degree graduates had the highest unemployment rate of 4.68 percent, followed by high-school graduates at 3.14 percent and people with graduate degrees at 2.7 percent, the report said.
People with junior-high school education or lower had the lowest jobless rate of 2.39 percent, it said.
Meanwhile, people aged 20 to 24 had the highest unemployment rate of 11.56 percent, followed by the 15-to-19 age group at 8.45 percent and the 25-to-29 age group at 6.02 percent, the report said.
People aged 45 to 64 had the lowest jobless rate of 2.1 percent, it said.
The average unemployment period was 20.7 weeks, down by 0.2 weeks from a month earlier even though first-time jobseekers needed a bit more time to find work, the DGBAS said.
Taiwan’s headline unemployment rate was higher than Hong Kong’s 3 percent, Japan’s 2.6 percent and South Korea’s 2.1 percent, the agency added.
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