Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) yesterday defended the council against accusations that lower unemployment figures for last month released earlier this week had been manipulated to mask looming problems of low job stability.
On Monday, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reported that the unemployment rate for last month had dropped to 4.92 percent, thus meeting the 5 percent goals set for the end of the year by the Executive Yuan and the CLA. However, critics claim the rosy employment numbers hide serious problems within the job market, adding that statistics can easily be manipulated to meet certain agendas.
“Of course we’re glad to see the unemployment rate falling,” Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said. “However, there is still widespread ‘hidden unemployment’ and a large proportion of those with jobs only have temporary positions, so they will be out of work again after a short period.”
Son said the government should remain cautious because about 1 million people remained in temporary positions.
“Temp workers will soon fall back into the unemployed category, so even if for the moment the Executive Yuan’s goals are met, this doesn’t mean that future problems are being addressed,” the secretary-general said.
On accusations that the government’s temporary job openings achieved little more than to allow unemployed individuals to “take turns being out of work,” Wang said employment statistics showed Taiwan was “not worse off” than other countries.
Turning to the CLA’s “Get to Work Immediately” plan, which was launched at the end of 2008 amid rising unemployment, Wang said the scheme invites private companies to hire workers who have been jobless for three or more consecutive months, up to a maximum period of six months. In return, the firms receive a subsidy of NT$10,000 per month per worker from the government.
Of the more than 74,000 people who found work via the program, about 52,000, or 70 percent, are still employed, Wang said, adding that those workers were proof that the temporary job-boosting program was effective in stimulating long-term job prospects.
Though the program was effective, Wang said the council would not repeat a pre-Lunar New Year temporary job program this year because economic conditions had improved. The program was initiated last year to help unemployed individuals get through the Lunar New Year period by providing them with temporary work.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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