Taiwan’s unemployment rate in February inched up 0.05 of a percentage point to 4.69 percent from January, the first increase in seven months, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics March 22.
“Holiday layoffs and an upsurge in the number of individuals looking to change jobs lifted the number of people without work from 517,000 to 522,000,” said Min Chen, senior executive officer with the DGBAS Bureau of Census.
Despite the sluggish performance, Chen said, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell for the 18th consecutive month to 4.59 percent, signaling an active job market as the economy continues to recover.
She noted that the number of involuntarily unemployed, those dismissed due to the scaling down or closing of businesses, dropped to 169,000 last month from 310,000 in the same period last year, posting the lowest level in 20 months.
Salary data also fared well. The annual bonus, usually handed out before the Lunar New Year, boosted the average monthly wage in January, which advanced more than 53 percent year on year to hit NT$82,456 (US$2,791). The mean regular wage for the month was NT$36,728.
The latest DGBAS report also showed that in February, Taiwan’s unemployment rate was lower than the 4.9 percent recorded in Japan and the U.S.’s 8.9 percent, but exceeded the figures for Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, which stood at 2.2, 3.6 and 4.0 percent, respectively. (THN)
Write to Audrey Wang at audrey@mail.gio.gov.tw