The unemployment rate fell to 3.33 percent last month, a 25-year low for November, underscoring continued stability in the labor market as year-end consumption activity gathers pace, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
The jobless rate declined for a third straight month, although the seasonally adjusted figure edged up 0.02 percentage points to 3.35 percent from October.
The increase was marginal and within a reasonable range, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) said, adding that the data are based on sampling and subject to minor fluctuations.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
DGBAS expects employment conditions to remain supported this month, as domestic demand typically strengthens ahead of the Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year holidays, Tan said.
“Unemployment usually eases during this period before rising seasonally after the Lunar New Year amid a surge in job-switching activity,” she said.
The number of unemployed people fell by 3,000 from a month earlier to 401,000 last month, with the improvement driven by a reduction of about 4,000 first-time jobseekers, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the number of underemployed — those working fewer hours than desired — declined for a second consecutive month to 124,000. After previously peaking at 129,000, the recent pullback suggests no significant deterioration in labor conditions, as risks related to US tariffs have stabilized, but not fully resolved, Tan said.
Currency fluctuations have shown signs of easing, while tariff-related issues appear to be nearing resolution, allowing companies to make clearer decisions on investment and order placement, which would help support labor demand, she said.
By contrast, persistent overcapacity in global traditional manufacturing has yet to show meaningful improvement and warrants continued monitoring for its potential impact on domestic employment, she said.
By education level, university graduates recorded the highest unemployment rate at 4.52 percent, compared with 3.1 percent for those with graduate degrees and 2.96 percent for people with a senior-high or vocational education.
Youth unemployment remained elevated, with rates of 10.55 percent among those aged 15 to 19 and 11.7 percent for the 20 to 24 age group, largely reflecting first-time jobseekers adjusting to the labor market, the agency said.
The jobless rate fell to 5.85 percent for those aged 25 to 29 and to 3.33 percent for people aged 30 to 34, it said.
Average unemployment duration edged up to 20 weeks last month, the agency said.
First-time jobseekers were unemployed for an average of 21.3 weeks, compared with 19.7 weeks for others, it said.
Long-term unemployment — defined as joblessness lasting more than one year — stood at 47,000 people, slightly higher than a month earlier, it added.
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