Taipei, March 11, 2010 (CENS)--With global economy recovering, the number of workers remaining on unpaid leaves has dropped to less than 10,000 at the end of 2009 from a peak of 239,000 in the beginning of last year, and that of applicants for unemployment benefits has also decreased to only 66,000 from 120,000, both indicating that unemployment has gradually eased in Taiwan, according to officials of Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) under Executive Yuan.
Affected by the global financial tsunami, over 900 Taiwanese enterprises across all industries suffered steep sales recessions and hence forced their workers to take unpaid leaves in early 2009 to cut their operating costs for survival.
But, thanks to the recent economic recovery, DGBAS`s report shows, the number of Taiwanese enterprises implementing an unpaid leave program sharply decreased to only 169 at the end of the year, with less than 10,000 workers still on unpaid leave at the time.
In the meantime, another good sign in Taiwan`s job market is decreasing applications for unemployment benefits, indicating domestic unemployment has eased, DGBAS officials noted. According to their report, the number of applicants for unemployment insurance benefits slipped to only 66,000 in December 2010, from an average of over 100,000 for period of January to July of 2009.
With the labor market gradually turning around, DGBAS officials stated that Taiwan`s unemployment rate already declined to 5.68% in January 2010, with only 52,000 applicants for unemployment benefits in the month. Hopefully, they added, the unemployment rate will likely drop further to under 5.0% by the end of this year, given the fact that Taiwan`s economy continues recovering as smoothly as expected.
However, DGBAS`s report also shows that the number of unemployed workers who lost their jobs due to company closures remained at a high level of 317,000 at the end of 2009, only 38,000 less than the peak of 355,000 early the year.
| Taiwan’s Unemployment Rate and Related Job Market Indicators |
| 2009 | Unemployment Rate | Company with Unpaid Leave | Workers on Unpaid Leave | Applicants for Unemployment Benefits |
| Jan. | 5.31% | 416 | 187,000 | 73,000 |
| Feb. | 5.75% | 586 | 239,000 | 120,000 |
| Mar. | 5.81% | 866 | 220,000 | 124,000 |
| Apr. | 5.76% | 903 | 179,000 | 115,000 |
| May | 5.82% | 839 | 147,000 | 106,000 |
| Jun. | 5.94% | 848 | 126,000 | 120,000 |
| Jul. | 6.07% | 655 | 74,000 | 104,000 |
| Aug. | 6.13% | 614 | 59,000 | 88,000 |
| Sep. | 6.04% | 614 | 42,000 | 83,000 |
| Oct. | 5.96% | 419 | 26,000 | 73,000 |
| Nov. | 5.86% | 336 | 20,000 | 63,000 |
| Dec. | 5.74% | 169 | 10,000 | 66,000 |
| Jan., 2010 | 5.68% | -- | -- | 52,000 |
Source: DGBAS
(by Steve Chuang)
