The number of workers in formal furlough programs in Taiwan surpassed 8,500 as of yesterday, with the vast majority coming from the tariff-hit manufacturing sector, the Ministry of Labor said today.
Ministry data showed that 8,505 workers were on unpaid leave, up 1,171 from the middle of last month.
Of them, 8,070, or about 95 percent, worked in manufacturing, which has been reeling since the US imposed a 20-percent levy on Taiwanese goods in August.
Photo: CNA
The number of employers implementing furlough programs also rose by 65 during the same period to 398, the ministry said.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅) said that while the overall number of furloughed workers continued to rise, the pace had slowed, from an increase of 2,471 in the first half of last month to 1,171 over the past two weeks.
Within the manufacturing sector, machinery and equipment manufacturing companies were particularly hard-hit, with more than 3,500 workers currently on unpaid leave, Huang said.
A total of 310 employers cited the US tariffs as the main reason for implementing furlough programs, Huang added.
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