The number of furloughed workers in Taiwan fell in the first half of the month as the job market continued to improve, although economic growth remained slow, Ministry of Labor data released yesterday showed.
As of Friday last week, the number of workers who consented to unpaid leave was 276, a drop of 141 from the last two weeks last month, the data showed.
In the first half of the month 14 employers implemented unpaid leave programs agreed to by their employees, down by two from the end of last month, the data showed.
During the 15-day period, seven employers ended their unpaid leave programs, but five launched programs, bringing the total number down to 14, the data showed.
The government releases data on unpaid leave twice a month to provide an update on local labor market conditions.
In July, Taiwan’s jobless rate increased 0.1 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.84 percent due to an increase in the number of first-time job seekers during graduation season, but the figure was 0.18 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
Market analysts said that while the local job market is stable, seasonal factors could push up the unemployment rate this month.
The government has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 2.05 percent to 2.11 percent, but the pace of the recovery appears slow as the National Development Council’s composite index of monitoring indicators is still “yellow-blue,” indicating sluggish growth.
Most of the companies with employees on unpaid leave are small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees, the ministry said.
All 14 employers that implemented furloughs did so with the consent of their employees who agreed to take up to four days a month in unpaid leave for no more than three months, the ministry said.
The government has implemented a NT$20 billion (US$665 million) program to reduce the financial impact of furloughs on workers, offering people training to upgrade their job skills, the ministry said.
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