The number of workers on formal unpaid leave in Taiwan in the second half of last month rose slightly from the first half, with the manufacturing sector feeling the most pinch, according to the Ministry of Labor.
Data released by the ministry on Friday showed the number of workers placed on furlough rose by 253 from 15 days earlier to 7,371 as of the end of last month, marking an increase from a three-month low seen on Dec. 15, when the number fell by 2,035 at the end of November due to an increase of rush orders.
The number of employers with unpaid leave programs in place rose by seven from Dec. 15 to 385 at the end of last month, the data indicated.
Photo: CNA
Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), head of the ministry’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal
Employment, told reporters that the metal and machinery industries continued to report the largest number of furloughed workers with 5,140 stood down, accounting for about 70 percent of the total in the export-oriented manufacturing sector.
During the 15-day period, a total of 6,409 workers were furloughed due to US tariffs on Taiwanese goods, compared with 6,339 recorded in middle of last month, according to the ministry data.
Analysts said the rebound from a three-month low in furloughed workers showed the manufacturing sector remained haunted by the US tariff policies.
However, the domestic demand-oriented service sector stayed relatively resilient, ministry data showed, with the number of furloughed workers in the wholesale and retail industry falling to 301 from 329 on Dec. 15.
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