The number of furloughed workers has reached a new high for this year, as the lodging, food and beverage sector continues to be affected by a domestic COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The number of workers placed on unpaid leave between Friday last week and Thursday rose to 22,179, up 1,340 from in the previous seven-day period, ministry data showed.
The number of companies with furlough programs in place also rose by 115 to 3,027, the data showed.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Deputy Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said the increases were largely driven by the lodging, food and beverage sector, which accounted for about 70 percent of the increases, as COVID-19 fears discouraged people from traveling and dining in restaurants.
The number of workers in the sector placed on unpaid leave rose to 6,547 from 5,589, while the number of companies with furlough programs in place also rose to 432 from 387, the data showed.
A hotel in southern Taiwan in the most recent seven-day period reported more than 100 newly furloughed workers, and a restaurant chain reported that one of its outlets in northern Taiwan placed more than 100 workers on unpaid leave, Huang said.
However, the situation is expected to improve after a subsidy program for domestic travel starts in the middle of this month, Huang added.
The COVID-19 pandemic also took a toll on the retail and wholesale industry, which reported that the number of furloughed workers increase to 1,661 from 1,513, the data showed.
Huang said that one glass retailer in the most recent seven-day period placed 40 additional employees on unpaid leave, after furloughing 100 workers in the previous period.
In the transportation and warehousing industry, a small tour bus company reported that it had implemented a new furlough program, Huang said, but did not disclose the number of employees affected.
As a result, the number of transportation and warehousing workers on unpaid leave increased to 1,313 from 1,263, the ministry said.
As border controls remained in place, the number of furloughed workers in the support service industry, which is dominated by travel agencies, also increased to 9,420 from 9,365, it added.
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