October jobless rate down to 3.95 percent for Taiwan

2014-11-27

Taiwan’s unemployment rate dropped 0.29 of a percentage point from 12 months ago to 3.95 percent in October, the lowest for the period in seven years, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Nov. 24.

The number of jobless fell to 457,000, down 1,000 or 0.22 percent from the month before, representing the 19th consecutive month of annual improvement. Employment reached 11.12 million, up 21,000 or 0.18 percent from September, with the time spent on job seeking averaging 25.5 weeks.

“An improving local economy is the major reason behind the encouraging figures,” a DGBAS official said. “The fact that effect of the graduation season is wearing off also helped stabilize the job market.”

For the first 10 months of the year, joblessness averaged 3.98 percent, down 0.21 of a percentage point to its best level in seven years.

With no major economic crisis on the horizon and prices of oil and commodities set to remain stable, the official expects Taiwan’s job market to continue recovering, with the average unemployment rate projected to dip below 4 percent for the year, the best since the financial tsunami of 2009.

Separately, the DGBAS released the country’s average wages for September.

Wages for those in industrial and services sectors averaged NT$44,382 (US$1,432) for the month, up 2.96 percent from 2013. Over the first nine months of the year, average wages were NT$48,521, rising 4.37 percent to their highest level for the period.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224475&CtNode=413)