The demand for workers from July to September is expected to rise by 21,100 from this quarter, the lowest level for the same period in 11 years, a survey published by the Ministry of Labor on Tuesday showed.
The survey found that 16.41 percent of employers are willing to increase their workforce from the second quarter, while 68.87 percent have no plans to add head count and 6.88 percent plan to reduce new hires quarterly, Department of Statistics head Lo Yi-ling (羅怡玲) told a news conference in Taipei.
The manufacturing sector has the highest demand, with a hoped-for workforce increase of 7,200 people, followed by the wholesale and retail sector, which wants to hire 3,000 additional staff, the survey found.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
The demand for workers in the medical, healthcare and social services field was third, at 2,200.
The small increase can be attributed to sluggish consumption growth and a reduction in travel, as economic activity has been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the third quarter of 2009 saw a net increase that was even lower, with just of 19,563 workers added, ministry data showed.
A total of 3,051 valid samples were collected from businesses with at least 30 employees surveyed from April 20 to May 8, the ministry said.
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